Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) refers to statements that the police are investigating the burning of a caricature of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 rally in Kota Kinabalu last weekend under the Sedition Act and the Penal Code, and that Universiti Malaysia Sabah will lodge a police report and initiate disciplinary proceedings against students involved in the burning of the caricature.
Instead of focusing on high-level corruption highlighted at the rally, members of the “unity government”, its supporters (including PKR youth wing chief Kamil Munim) and UMS are focusing on the burning of the caricature calling it “rude”, “immature” and “uncivilised”.
This is a convenient excuse to sidestep the main complaint at the rally that the “Madani” (civil and trustworthy) government is closing an eye to corruption in Sabah involving the government’s political allies.
Instead, the students who demanded stern government action against corruption are the ones being investigated. It is as if they are hardened criminals, with the authorities even using the draconian Sedition Act on the students for the burning of the caricature.
LFL reminds these sycophants of those in power that irrespective of their personal views of how the rally was conducted, it does not negate the rally participants’ constitutionally guaranteed right to express their views and to peacefully assemble.
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These rights are enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution and cannot be abrogated simply because a few ‘brown-nosers’ view certain acts as “rude” or “immature”.
What is illegal and unconstitutional is intimidating participants of the rally with disciplinary and criminal action for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of speech.
It is highly ironic that anyone from this government thinks he has any leg to stand on to reprimand actions of the students during the Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 rally.
Are we forgetting that the PM himself, when he himself was a student activist, led a burning of a book penned by the Tunku Abdul Rahman in the 1970s?
What about Adam Adli, a current deputy minister, who as a student activist lowered a flag bearing the image of then Prime Minister Najib Razak in front of the Putra World Trade Centre, replacing it with a banner reading “Bebaskan Academic Freedom” back in 2011?
In fact, further hypocrisy can be seen when similar acts were also carried out by those affiliated with the government.
Umno’s youth wing burnt the Israeli flag at the Jamek Mosque in 2023 to express its anger about the genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza. This is recognised worldwide as a legitimate form of democratic protest.
Why then should the burning of a caricature of the PM now be made an issue amounting to criminal action? Is Anwar above criticism? Or do special rules apply to him?
It is usual for any protest to involve acts symbolising the disdain or anger of the participants against failures of those who are in power. ‘Adab’ (civility) has no role to play in a protest, as history shows.
The unity government should stop with all the false outrage.
The barrage of threats against the students involved in the protest in fact highlights yet another failure of the Pakatan Harapan-led government apart from combating corruption: their failure to uphold and protect the people’s constitutional rights to freedom of expression and to peacefully assemble, using the Sedition Act, the draconian act that PH promised to repeal, against the students.
For UMS, an institution of higher learning to stifle its own students’ exercise of freedom of speech and of peaceful assembly through threats of disciplinary action is utterly disgraceful and contrary to the tenets of academic freedom.
For this to happen under a PH-led government, which staunchly supported student activism when it was in opposition, is sheer hypocrisy.
Enough is enough. The PM and all PH members in government should honour their promise to uphold and protect the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly for all. They should not qualify these rights only to those who support or are aligned with the current government.
LFL thus urges the government and UMS to immediately halt and drop all probes against the rally participants for the burning of the caricature of Anwar and to take swift action to repeal the draconian Sedition Act. – LFL
Zaid Malek is the director of Lawyers for Liberty.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
