Fahmi brings 'clown Najib' to police station after being summoned

Artist Fahmi Reza today brought a framed caricature of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters after being summoned by cops over the same artwork which he had circulated online.

He posed with it for the media outside the police district headquarters this afternoon before giving his statement to the police for some 90 minutes.

He later emerged from the police station expressing surprise that he was not arrested for the stunt.

Fahmi said during the questioning, investigators had demanded that he give up the username and password to his social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

However, the artist said he refused to surrender these details, although he answered all other questions and even admitted to being the person who drew and uploaded the caricature.

“(I said) I cannot give my usernames and passwords for my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts because these are my personal accounts, but I can cooperate if they want to see any of its contents.

“I have nothing to hide, everything is there. The problem is that if I give my usernames and passwords, they can access everything – my Facebook messages and other things that have nothing to do with this issue, and I don't want that.

“It will be irresponsible of me to give my password – irresponsible to the people who are my friends on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram. That's why I refused,” he told reporters and supporters outside Dang Wangi district police headquarters after being questioned.

Fahmi said he acknowledged that the Section 249 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) stipulates that he must provide enforcement agencies, particularly the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), access to his accounts to facilitate investigations.

However, instead of providing the passwords, he said he reached a compromise whereby he would log into the accounts himself, and then watch as enforcement officers recover the information they need.

'Intentional insult'

Fahmi is currently being investigated under Section 233 of the CMA for allegedly misusing a telecommunications network, and under Section 504 of the Penal Code that deals with intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace.

He is scheduled to give his statement to the MCMC tomorrow morning.

Fahmi's lawyer Syahredzan Johan said they were told this is regarding another caricature that Fahmi allegedly made, but they haven't been told which one.

During today's questioning, some 40 supporters waited outside the police district headquarters since 4pm today.

When Fahmi emerged, the group cheered and then quietly listened to Fahmi as he recounted the questions asked during the questioning and the responses given, such as whether he was the one who created the clown-face anti-Sedition Act caricature, and what software was used.

He promised to share more of this in a Facebook post later.

He added that the two police officers questioning him, to their credit, also acted professionally and appeared to try to understand his point of view, instead of merely transcribing what he said.

He also maintained there is nothing wrong in his conduct.

“This is how I express my views on what is going on in Malaysia now. Why is it wrong to criticise the prime minister?” he queried. ---Mkini