Graphic designer Fahmi Reza is well on his way to paying the RM30,000 he was fined for publishing a caricature depicting Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak as a clown.
Less than 24 hours after setting up a crowdfunding page for the fine, he has registered RM21,015 in contributions - 70 percent of the target amount. This was the amount registered at press time.
He has 37 days left to crowdfund the remaining RM8,985.
His page allows the public to contribute in several ways, including purchasing items like t-shirts, pin badges and notebooks bearing the very caricature he was fined for.
Fahmi said his sentence had “failed to deter him” from dialing down on the satirical nature of his work.
“Works of satire and parody should be legitimate and protected forms of political dissent, not criminalised. This guilty verdict is an affront to all artists and persons exercising our democratic rights and freedom of expression enshrined under Article 10 of our Federal Constitution.
“People holding positions of power in this country should be ready to accept criticisms, no matter how unpopular or dissenting. If they cannot respect these democratic values, then it is our duty to continuously remind them we will not be cowed by such authoritarian tactics.
“The only lesson I have learnt (from my conviction) is the power of protest art in mobilising resistance against corruption and repression,” he said on his page on crowdfunding platform Pozible.
Aside from being fined, Fahmi was also sentenced to a month’s jail by the Ipoh Sessions Court on Tuesday.
He was charged last June under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA), for posting the caricature along with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) logo.
He had previously filed a legal challenge against the constitutionality of the CMA in his bid to strike out the charge against him.
Last January, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur allowed Fahmi's application, but the Federal Court later set aside the ruling on the grounds that the case was not properly brought before it, and should, therefore, be remitted back to the Sessions Court.
Fahmi's lawyer Syahredzan Johan is appealing the Sessions Court decision.
Should the verdict be overturned, the collected funds will be used for Fahmi's ongoing criminal trial in the Kuala Lumpur High Court where he is being prosecuted for uploading a caricature of Najib on his Instagram account.
"Should I be acquitted on both charges, remaining funds will be used to support other persons charged under the same law for political satire or dissent (who) do not have financial access to pay for bail or fine.
"Financial records will be made public," added Fahmi on his crowdfunding page. - Mkini
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