A political science academic from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) was summoned by the police to facilitate probes into an alleged attempt to topple the government, with authorities zooming in on views she had expressed in a 2024 article.
Syaza Shukri confirmed with Malaysiakini that she had been summoned to Bukit Aman on March 10 as part of investigations into Na’imah Abdul Khalid, the widow of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, under Section 124B of the Penal Code.
The section deals with activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy and carries a jail term of up to 20 years.
Syaza (above) said she was summoned due to her views expressed in a South China Morning Post article dated Dec 26, 2024, relating to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s role in the Pulau Batu Puteh issue.
In the article, Syaza, who was referred to in her capacity as the head of IIUM’s political science department, was quoted as opining that Anwar is “public enemy No. 1” for Mahathir and the opposition.
She added that if the government were to go ahead with investigations against Mahathir, the opposition “will have a field day to paint this very negative picture of Anwar”.
When contacted today, Syaza said the police had posed “a lot of questions” to her in attempting to establish whether there were any links between Na’imah and her.
She also said that police had sought clarification on whether she had “received anything from anyone” when making her statement to the international news agency.
Student group chides cops
In a statement today, IIUM’s Political Science Students Association questioned Bukit Aman’s motives, asserting that any comments made on contemporary political developments, especially about political leaders, should not be seen as criticism detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
“Intimidation by police questioning on academic opinion will threaten our nation’s intellectual discourse and potentially silence scholars from discussing political issues that are of interest to the rakyat,” the group cautioned.
Earlier today, lawyer Zaid Malek said two other individuals were called in for questioning after they were among 14 individuals named in an email said to be linked to the alleged plot to topple the government.
The lawyer noted that so far, nine individuals from the list have been summoned by the police, including Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) CEO Pushpan Murugiah, who was summoned two days ago.
Na’imah’s lawyer, Nizamuddin Hamid, who was also summoned today for his statement under the same probe, ridiculed claims against his client as “mere fantasies”, questioning how a 70-year-old widow could have the power to topple a government.
Zaid, who is also the executive director of Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), previously said investigators questioned Pushpan about his personal background, credibility, sources of funding, whether he was paid for his work, and the process through which he issued public statements.
The investigation against Na’imah comes after a police report accused her of using international media outlets to mount pressure on Anwar and MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki as part of an alleged plan to overthrow the government.
Na’imah has denied involvement in the alleged plot, labelling the content of the police report as “false and preposterous”.
In arguing that the timing of the police report points to a desperate attempt to distract the public from growing calls for Azam’s removal from office, Na’imah also stated that the report was lodged on the heels of allegations reported by Bloomberg involving the MACC chief commissioner.
She also said any attempt suggesting she was behind Bloomberg’s exposé involving Azam is not only irresponsible but also an insult to the journalists concerned. - Mkini
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