Following last month’s Umno general assembly, a slew of police reports were lodged against delegates who raised sensitive issues pertaining to race and religion.
Chief among them was Wanita Umno leader Mashitah Ibrahim and Permatang Pauh Umno division chief Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said.
The pair’s incendiary speeches were delivered at the same venue where Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced that the Sedition Act would be maintained and fortified.
And now a PKR lawmaker, who himself is facing charges under the Sedition Act, is questioning what happened to the police investigations.
Although N Surendran said the position of Pakatan Rakyat is not to criminalise freedom of expression, apart from speeches that instigate violence and bloodshed, certain laws, however, existed.
“So why is there reluctance on the part of the authorities (to invoke them against ruling politicians)?” he asked.
As for Mashitah’s case, the Padang Serai MP said her speech was widely publicised and an investigation had commenced.
“It has been almost a month since the statements were made, but there has been no news of the outcome of the investigation
“Meanwhile, many from the opposition and civil society have been charged with various offences,” Surendran told Malaysiakini.
“So the question is, why are the police silent about the investigation. It is a matter of public interest. Was the investigation serious or was it just a reaction to public concern?” he asked.
Launching a broadside on Umno, Surendran said the party is tolerating extremist views and people who make extreme statements.
"Mashitah is just the manifestation of Umno’s tolerance level with regard to extremism,” he added.
Racial incitement
The police are investigating the former deputy minister under Section 505 of the Penal Code for racial incitement.
They have since recorded statements from Mashitah as well as a Malaysiakini journalist and editor as her speech was reported in the news portal.
In her speech, Mashitah had called on Wanita Umno delegates to defend Islam and cited how the Chinese community in Kedah had torched pages of the Quran during a prayer ritual.
However, Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir had earlier clarified that a mentally-ill Malay man had been detained for tearing the Quran, and there was no burning involved.
Quizzed later on the police reports lodged against her by DAP, Mashitah remained unapologetic, saying the opposition could sue her if they wished to.
As for Mohd Zaidi, he had initially courted flak for alleging that the Chinese in Penang profited from illegal businesses.
However, he later claimed that he was misquoted.
Apart from this, the Tamilar Action Force lodged several reports against him for uttering the derogatory term ‘keling’ in his speech at the Umno meet.
Zaidi had said, “We (Umno) are very unlucky because we lost badly in constituencies with a majority of Chinese voters. So, this shows that the Malays in Penang support Umno, regardless of them being ‘mamak’ (Indian-Muslim) or ‘keling’.”
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Malaysian Indian Progressive Association (Mipas) secretary-general S Barathidasan lamented the lack of action on the part of the police.
“It seems that whenever a report is filed against ruling politicians, the police and attorney-general will drag their feet, but when it comes to the opposition, they act swiftly.
“So far, we have filed several reports in various states but no action has been taken,” Barathidasan said.
He said Zaidi made his remark in full view of the delegates and there is also a recording of his speech.
“And yet nothing happens. We feel very disappointed. The police are not doing their job for the public,” he added. - Mkini
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