The police have called Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) founding director Cynthia Gabriel for questioning under Section 4 of the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA).
The two sections deal with defamation and slander, but freedom of speech advocates deem them repressive.
The police probe was related to C4's March 14 letter titled ‘Anti-corruption rhetoric will never purify the unelected Perikatan Nasional gov't’.
C4 urged the MACC to initiate investigations into alleged possible "horse-trading" among politicians to maintain or capture federal power.
This came after a leaked audio recording allegedly depicting Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin laying out a plan to lure Umno MPs to defect.
Gabriel (above) will be quizzed on June 10, 2pm at the PJ Seksyen 8 police headquarters.
When contacted, Gabriel said the police action is definitely a "harassment and intimidation" on civil society.
"They are trying to keep us from expressing critical views, as politicians focus on grabbing power," Gabriel told Malaysiakini.
Gabriel recalled that the Agong spoke about prioritising fighting corruption in his speech at the latest parliamentary sitting last month.
"Activists who are doing exactly that have been singled out, harassed, and targeted," Gabriel lamented.
"There are so many opinions and articles written about the change of government right to this very day, given the fluid political situation, why pick on us graft busters?" Gabriel asked.
"Meanwhile, prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has also said his government was not the one the people voted for, so where is the offence in our statement?" she further queried.
Meanwhile, criminal charges were also levelled against MyWatch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan at the Sessions Court today for purportedly spreading ‘false communication’ regarding the police.
Lawyers for Liberty coordinator Zaid Malek found it disturbing that Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA is still being used by the authorities despite its "detrimental impact on freedom of speech".
Zaid said the government must uphold freedom of speech, a right enshrined under Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
He added, the right to free speech is especially crucial for the protection of anyone expressing discontent or criticism towards the authorities.
"It must be jealously guarded, and any attempt to infringe on this fundamental right must be strongly opposed," said Zaid.
He pointed out that the "unfortunate" resurgence of the usage of section 233 of the CMA and the Sedition Act is a painful reminder of the failure of the previous Pakatan Harapan government to fulfil their promise to amend the related laws.
These tools of oppression, Zaid added, could have been easily dismantled had the Harapan government shown the political will to carry out their own manifesto promises.
"Their failure to do so has now again put us at risk of falling victim to unjust laws."
Zaid urged the relevant authorities to stop using draconian acts to clamp down on free speech and harass dissenters.
"The government too must remember that it has a duty to uphold the constitution and all the fundamental rights enshrined therein, including the right of all Malaysians to free speech." - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.