Lawyer and human rights activist Fadiah Nadwa Fikri questioned the initiative of Pakatan Harapan to protect freedom of speech after she was called in by police today on the content of a speech she made on July 29.
After the questioning, which is the second time she was questioned by police – the first, on a Facebook post she made – Fadiah said she doubts any initiative on the part of the Harapan government to protect freedom of speech.
"Definitely, the Sedition Act is still there. It's still there, even though the Harapan government said it will abolish this law.
"I am quite worried about the situation of human rights in this country because there is no clear commitment by the new government to put an end to this law, which stops people from questioning power...
"So, what are they going to do about it? Are they going to keep all these types of laws intact? Does that mean the change on May 9 is just an illusion?" Fadiah asked members of the media after her questioning by police.
She had been called to the South Klang District police headquarters on her speech at the “Should we rewrite our history textbooks?” forum, after a member of Gerakan Muslimah Islam Malaysia (GMIM ) filed a police report against Fadiah, based on a Utusan Malaysia report that she tried to distort the history of the Communist Party of Malaya.
The first time Fadiah, the legal research officer with the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), was questioned by police was on July 11, was over a Facebook post she made.
She criticised both the former BN government and the current Harapan government of not daring to face the truth.
"Yes (both of them)... They (Harapan) could have told the police not to initiate the investigation against activists, or people who dare to speak out about the issues that are not popular. But they didn't do that.
"They have to show the commitment... But the law is still there. They don't stop it and don't tell police not to call people who express their views," Fadiah said.
"I am not inciting violence, like the people who lodged a (police) report against me, but I am the one who has been hauled up."
She said after the change of the government in the country, the same things that she experienced with the BN government have remained.
"I don't think this is going stop now. This is going to continue, and a lot of people will be afraid to speak out, especially ordinary people out there."
Fadiah called on the Ministry of Home Affairs and cabinet members as well to take action.
"The new government could have told the police not to go against activists, and against people who dare to speak out on the issues that are not popular. They can do something about this." - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.