Police have arrested a Sabah activist - who has been defending the stateless Bajau Laut community - under the Sedition Act 1948.
Borneo Komrad told Malaysiakini that its founder Mukmin Nantang was arrested after turning up for questioning at the Semporna district police headquarters today.
He has since been released under police bail.
It is understood that he was detained to facilitate investigations regarding a video circulating on TikTok about sea nomad communities.
However, Mukmin told Malaysiakini he did not post the video, since he does not own a TikTok account. He declined to elaborate on the contents of the footage citing legal advice.
Semporna district police chief Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah confirmed to Malaysiakini that the police have recorded Mukmin’s statement and released him on police bail.
In an immediate response, Amnesty International Malaysia urged the government to stop the investigation against Mukmin and repeal the Sedition Act.
It also urged the Sabah government to cease its crackdown on Bajau Laut communities and the human rights defenders championing their cause.
“The arrest of Mukmin for exposing human rights violations is beyond the pale. The government has an obligation to protect human rights defenders, not arrest and attempt to intimidate.
“Furthermore, the use of the Sedition Act to silence the voices of human rights defenders is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression.
“The repressive Sedition Act has no place in Malaysia and goes against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration’s own commitments to repeal draconian laws curtailing freedom of speech,” said Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Katrina Jorene Maliamauv in a statement today.
The group Mandiri Borneo likewise condemned the arrest and called for the abolition of the Sedition Act, noting that the law was once used to oppress those who are now in power.
“Although he (Mukmin) has been released on police bail this afternoon, his arrest was unnecessary especially since he had presented himself at the Semporna district police headquarters to give full cooperation to the police,” said Mandiri Borneo director Wong Kueng Hui.
Demolition of houses
Mukmin played a key role in highlighting the eviction of the Bajau Laut community in Semporna earlier this month.
He brought to public attention an alleged operation to evict the nomadic people where the authorities demolished their stilt houses.
The Sabah-based NGO had also shared videos showing the demolition.
One video showed several men pushing a stilt house until it collapsed, and another showed a woman lamenting the loss of her home and pleading for mercy from the “authorities”. - Mkini
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