THIS is not to condone the erratic behaviour of Perikatan Nasional (PN) activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin a.k.a. CheGuBard (main image, green shirt) but the use of the draconian Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 against the former is regrettable.
This has promoted NGO Malaysians Against Death Penalty (MADPET) to criticise the arrest and remand of Badrul Hisham who is also the Bersatu information committee member over comments made in a Facebook post where he quoted Bloomberg and a Singaporean media on reports claiming that a casino would be established in Forest City, Johor.
For context, the Singapore Business Times had on April 25 published a report entitled “Malaysia Mulls Over Plans for Casino in Forest City as Part of Johor-S’pore Special Economic Zone: Sources” while Bloomberg on the same day had a report entitled “Malaysia in Talks with Tycoons on Casino to Revive $100 Billion Forest City”.
Lawyer Rafique Rashid said he had received confirmation from the federal police that Badrul Hisham will be charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 at the Cybercrime Sessions Court at 9.30am today (April 29).
“In cases like this, it is MADPET’s opinion that there is no reason for the suspect to be held in detention for the purpose of investigation,” the NGO’s co-founder Charles Hector pointed out in a media statement.
“He could be released and ask to present himself at a particular time for purposes of investigation. If he did not come, then maybe a remand order can be issued.”
For the record, Badrul Hisham was arrested on Saturday (April 27) with the police having applied for his remand yesterday (April 28) in which they obtained a remand order for two days for the purpose of investigation.
“We recall the case of incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak who was allegedly never remanded or forced to spend time in police lock-up with other detainees whereby Malaysian lock-up conditions leave much to be desired,” noted Hector.
“We also recall Deputy PM Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was never remanded but (only) had to appear on stipulated times for the purpose of investigations until just before he was brought to court to be charged.”
Added the human rights activist and lawyer: “In Zahid’s case, the need didn’t even arise to apply to the Magistrate for a remand order which is required if the police or MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) wants to detain the suspect beyond 24 hours as he was detained for just about five to six hours before taken to court and charged.
“Hence, was there really any need to keep Badrul Hisham in detention for the purpose of investigations? MADPET believes that he and most other suspects will turn up for appointments for the purposes of investigation.” – April 29, 2024
