Lim Guan Eng Sent to Prison: A Day of Infamy for Justice

Aliran is appalled that Lim Guan Eng’s appeal has been rejected by the Federal Court, which upheld the Court of Appeal’s controversial sentence of two concurrent 18-month prison terms for ‘sedition’ and ‘publishing false news’. Many Malaysians will be terribly disappointed and stunned by the verdict.

Thinking, feeling, caring Malaysians find it difficult to understand why a fair and reasonable request to have his appeal heard by a seven-man or five-man bench was turned down. Allowing a larger bench to consider Lim’s case would have effectively demolished the perception among many that Lim’s prosecution was politically motivated. This perception will now persist.

The verdict is a terrible blow to the freedom of expression - a fundamental human right in a civil society. People will now be reluctant to speak up - because of oppressive laws - against instances of injustice affecting the poor and the downtrodden, who will end up as unrepresented, voiceless citizens.

Many Malaysians feel that Lim, a Member of Parliament, was articulating their aspirations and expressing outrage on their behalf over the statutory rape of a minor. The victim had, in open court, named the culprit but Malaysians are baffled as to why this lead was not followed through by the authorities but they went all the way to punish Lim.

In the end, the victim is not only Lim Guan Eng but also Justice itself. Today, 25 August, will go down in Malaysian history as a day of infamy when an outspoken crusader for justice had to pay an enormous price for acting according to his conscience.

But there could be a redeeming feature in this saga. It is not uncommon for some countries to mark their Independence or National Day by announcing an amnesty for their prisoners. This is a very noble and caring custom that Malaysia should consider practising.

In this connection, Aliran, in all humility, would like to appeal to His Gracious Majesty, the Yang Dipertuan Agong, in all compassion,  to grant a full pardon to Lim on 31 August 1998 in the interest of justice. This would be something that many Malaysians would welcome on this auspicious day.
 

P Ramakrishnan
President
25 August 1998