Zahid: Cops acted on their own against activist duo

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said police acted on their own in the arrest of two  activists under the 1948 Sedition Act.

Zahid said he was informed about the arrest of the duo - Hishamuddin Rais and Adam Adli - to assist the police in their probe into the case promoting the Sang Saka Malaya flag.

The duo were arrested but later released yesterday for allegedly flying the Sang Saka Malaya flag during a Merdeka celebration at Dataran Merdeka on Friday.

The flag was first raised in 1947 by leftist independence movement Putera-AMCJA.

“Police took action on their own after receiving various complaints from NGOs and political groups,” he said in Penang today, denying that he had intervened in the case.

“Personally, I know him (Hishamuddin). He was my friend when I was studying at Universiti Malaya,” he added.

“But professionally, I do not want to be perceived as unfair to a friend who shared the same struggle with me before,” he said.

“I hope society can differentiate between personal and official matters.”

Zahid said he would leave it to the police to probe whether their actions have violated any laws.

The investigation findings will be submitted to the attorney-general for further action, he added.

“I hope this issue is clear and that friends of Hishamuddin, NGOs and the opposition understand my position as home minister now, who used to be his friend,” Zahid said.

On the request by some groups to revoke the duo’s citizenship, Zahid said no law allowed a government to do that to Malaysian citizens.

“We cannot do it as they were born in Malaysia and they are citizens of the nation, unless they are not born in Malaysia,” he said.

On another controversial movie which supposedly glorified Communism, The New Village, Zahid said he just watched the film yesterday.

“I will discuss it with the film censorship board chairperson and the panel before a decision is made,” Zahid said.

“The decision is not made by the minister but by the censorship board,” he added.