In a bid to suppress mounting public opinion against his administration, Prime Minister Najib Razak launched a crackdown against Opposition rivals and civil society activists on Thursday, arresting four and charging one for sedition.
But it remains to be seen if his draconian move will succeed in dousing the widespread public anger and outrage stirred up by massive electoral fraud that has been noted even by the US government.
"We note concerns regarding reported irregularities in the conduct of the election, and believe it is important that Malaysian authorities address concerns that have been raised. We look forward to the outcome of their investigations," the White House had said in its congratulatory message to Najib upon conclusion of Malaysia's controversial May 5 general election.
Panicked as Black 505 sweeps Malay heartland
Najib's Umno-BN had taken 133 seats in the 222-seat federal Parliament, while Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat had taken 89. However, Pakatan claims there was fraud in at least 27 seats and they want re-elections in these constituencies.
The 64-year-old Anwar has gone on a nationwide tour to seek public support for his plan to challenge the outcome of the election, Malaysia's 13th since independence in 1957. Each venue that he and his team have gone to has drawn huge crowds of tens of thousands.
The last was in Kota Sarang Semut in Kedah, a typical malay heartland. The manner in which the Malays there had embraced the Black 505 movement by wearing black T-shirts to show displeasure with Najib's alleged polls cheating, their eager calls for him to step down and the BN to be replaced by the PR have sent shock waves through Umno, the dominant party in the BN coalition.
It is not surprising that the retaliation came swiftly and aggressively on Thursday, hours before another Black 505 rally is due to be held in Kuala Terengganu - another Malay heartland.
"The arrests of Tian, Tamrin and Haris shows how under pressure this regime is," Anwar said on his Twitter.
"Tonight #Black505 with DS. Anda semua dijemput hadir! #IniKalilah!" he re-tweeted.
Najib 'killing himself faster'
The latest politicians to be rounded up are Tian Chua, the MP for Batu, and Tamrin Ghafar, the son of former deputy prime minister Ghafar Baba who recently quit Umno to join PAS. Rumours are rife that newly-elected first-time MPfor Serdang Ong Kian Ming will be next.
Additionally, the offices of Harakah, the newspaper unit of PAS, was also raided.
"We condemn the high-handed arrests which show that Prime Minister Najib Razak is still trapped in the outmoded politics of oppression of umno-BN," Nik Nazmi, the PKR communications director, said in a statement.
Indeed, Najib's panicked response may have negative repercussions, said political observers. A snub by the public in coming out in full force to the KT rally and to another one in Malacca on Friday night would only reinforce the belief that he was on his last legs, politically weakened and unheeded by the people.
"Of course, in his panic, Najib might go overboard and order excessive violence against the people. If he does that, he kills himself even faster. He has painted himself into a corner. It is stupid to challenge and to try to make war on the people," was the wry comment from a seasoned political analyst.
Noon swoop
Tian Chua was arrested at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal about 1pm in Sepang on Thursday. Haris was arrested few minutes earlier while having lunch in Segambut. Tamrin was arrested while having lunch at Chawan in Bangsar, also around 2pm.
Student activist Adam Adli, who was detained and remanded for 5 days last week, was charged for sedition this morning. He has pleaded not guilty and has been released on bail.
Tian and Tamrin are expected to be charged for sedition too. Kuala Lumpur police criminal investigation department head Ku Chin Wah has confirmed their arrests and will hold a press conference shortly.
Ku did not give further details but both Tian and Haris are believed to have been arrested in connection with remarks made in their speeches at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on May 13. Both were reported to have asked the people to take matters to the street to show their protests against general election result.
As for Adam Adli, who was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948, he was accused of sedition because he had allegedly called on Malaysians to topple the Umno-BN government or democracy would be stamped out by their oppressive rule.
Eye on Umno election: Muhyiddin breathing down on Najib's neck
The latest and aggressive moves by Najib and newly-appointed Home Minister Zahid Hamidi are bound to stir further unhappiness with their rule and may even may a rash reaction from certain segments of the population.
However, some observers also believe this may be what Najib is deliberately trying to create so as to consolidate his own position in Umno where his presidency is tenuous and likely to be challenged by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.
It would be killing two birds with one stone, said the observers. Firstly, Najib would may get some immediate relief by frightening the crowds into not coming out to support the Opposition's Black 505 rallies. Secondly, if 'real' and serious trouble were to break out, for example if there riots, the chances are that his party would retain him until the instability was over.
At his Black 505 rallies, Anwar and PR leaders have so far made it a point to ask the crowd not to provoke BN supporters as they left the rallies. The PR leaders have also officially distanced themselves from the calls for street protests by various groups.
Fear of Gen Y
It is telling that in all of the Black 505 rallies, the largest group of supporters are the Gen Y - Malaysians in their 20s and 30s. Well-educated and confident of themselves, they have embraced the Opposition's call for change with fervor and great enthusiasm.
It is not surprising that one of the first to be remanded by the Najib adnministration was Adam, a popular and high-profile student leader. Adfam was remanded for 5 days and his father only allowed to see him after massive negotiations by his lawyers and public arm-twisting through the media.
Adam was represented by Ambiga Sreenevasan and N Surendran, while the prosecution team was led by deputy public prosecutor Abarzafee Mohd Abbas. The court set bail at RM5,000 on one surety and fixed July 2 for mention of the case.
The charge under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act carries a jail term of not less than three years or a maximum fine of RM5,000 or both. The defence plans to file an application to strike out the case, citing selective prosecution and mala fide in the police investigation.
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