Half of sedition cases involve criticism of political leaders - Suaram

 

Suaram has revealed that half of the cases under the Sedition Act 1948 involved criticism of political leaders, with the government seen as building a narrative that dissent is an act of rudeness.

According to Suaram documentation and monitoring coordinator Jernell Tan, the group’s Human Rights Report 2025 highlights the use of four main security legislations, including the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

“Since its introduction in 2012, Sosma recorded 6,892 arrests, but between 20 and 28 percent of detainees were eventually released without charges, highlighting systemic deficiencies in investigations, especially during the 28-day detention period without judicial oversight,” she said at the launch of the report in Kuala Lumpur today.

Besides Sosma, she touched on the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca), Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 (Pota), and Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 - all of which allow for administrative detention of up to 60 days, with detention or restriction orders of up to two years.

However, no new cases were reported under Poca in 2025.

Death in custody

Tan said the Suaram report also emphasised institutional failures in ensuring accountability and transparency, including in cases of deaths in detention.

According to her, deaths in custody had sharply increased in 2025, with 34 cases compared to 22 in 2023.

“Between 2018 and 2025, deaths in police custody increased, while in prisons there was a slight decrease,” she said, adding that the death toll in immigration detention could not be disclosed due to a lack of statistics.

Tan also said transparency for death in custody cases, especially in prisons, has shown improvement as the gap between media reports and government statistics has narrowed.

She added that Suaram’s own monitoring recorded nine deaths in custody in 2025: three under police detention, five by the Prisons Department, and one by the Immigration Department.

In 2023, 11 deaths in custody were reported in prisons, while 41 were under the Immigration Department.

Offences against individuals held under Sosma also included arbitrary detention, violence in custody, and failure to provide medical treatment.

Relatives of Sosma detainees protest outside Sungai Buloh prison last year

Suaram also reported 107 cases of detainees being beaten at Taiping Prison in January 2025, causing the death of a 62-year-old detainee, Gan Chin Eng.

As of December last year, only one warden has been charged with causing death by negligence, and no disciplinary action has been taken against other wardens.

Suppressing freedom of speech

ADS

The report also highlighted an increase in actions against freedom of speech and assembly.

The number of detentions under the Sedition Act increased from 32 in 2024 to 58 in 2025, while detentions for protests or public assemblies jumped from 24 to 128.

Tan stressed that the government often uses the “no manners” narrative to justify actions against activists, students, and assembly organisers.

Other issues touched upon included the expansion of the power of Islamic institutions, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, security-based management of migrants and refugees, as well as the lack of transparency in the death penalty reduction process and protection for vulnerable groups such as teenagers and individuals with mental health issues.

Tan said the Suaram 2025 report asserts that dissent, criticism of the government, and public political expression are increasingly regarded as threats to order, marking ongoing challenges to human rights in Malaysia. - Mkini