Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) has warned that the current arrests of NGO and Opposition leaders as well as activists represents a crackdown by the government reminiscent of the 1987 Operasi Lalang.
The human rights NGO said it was "appalled" by what it called "the state's demonstration of might" in recent times.
The human rights NGO said it was "appalled" by what it called "the state's demonstration of might" in recent times.
This comes especially after PAS' Thamrin Ghafar, PKR's Tian Chua, civil rights activists Haris Ibrahim and Hishamuddin Rais and student activist Safwan Anang were all arrested yesterday and charged under the Sedition Act today.
This added to the charging of student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim under the same law recently.
"Yazid Sufaat and Hilmi Hasim were re-arrested and charged under Section 130KA of the Penal Code for alleged terrorism offences after being released only a week ago," Suaram executive director E Nalini (right) said in a statement.
"Apart form the police's overpowering authority in the recent crackdown, there were two recent deaths caused by the police under their custody. N Dharmendran and R Jamesh Ramesh were found dead in police custody in the past week," Nalini said.
She said Suaram was "gravely concerned" by the current situation in the country.
"For as long as Suaram has existed, violations of human rights, civil liberties, and police brutality by the the BN government have never seen a decline," she added.
Nalini hoped that the current crackdowns were not symptoms of a second Operasi Lalang.
Operasi Lalang was an infamous crackdown on dissent in 1987, carried out by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in which 106 citizens were arrested under the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA).
This added to the charging of student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim under the same law recently."Yazid Sufaat and Hilmi Hasim were re-arrested and charged under Section 130KA of the Penal Code for alleged terrorism offences after being released only a week ago," Suaram executive director E Nalini (right) said in a statement.
"Apart form the police's overpowering authority in the recent crackdown, there were two recent deaths caused by the police under their custody. N Dharmendran and R Jamesh Ramesh were found dead in police custody in the past week," Nalini said.
She said Suaram was "gravely concerned" by the current situation in the country.
"For as long as Suaram has existed, violations of human rights, civil liberties, and police brutality by the the BN government have never seen a decline," she added.
Nalini hoped that the current crackdowns were not symptoms of a second Operasi Lalang.
Operasi Lalang was an infamous crackdown on dissent in 1987, carried out by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in which 106 citizens were arrested under the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA).
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