Pic: AP.
15th January 2016 — AMID concern from a number of Malaysian NGOs, Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar announced this week that “police have no choice but to beef up efforts to monitor social media as many internet users in the country abuse the platform by issuing insensitive comments”.
This comes at a time where reporters and opposition politicians are prosecuted on sedition charges, and arrest warrants sought through Interpol for the editor of the Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle-Brown.
Universiti Malaya law lecturer Azmi Sharom is currently on trial because of a legal opinion he gave over the Perak constitutional crisis, and activist Khalid Ismath faces 14 charges under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and Sedition Act 1948 for statements he made on social media. Mary Ann Jolley was deported from Malaysia for her report on the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu. She is also under investigation under section 505(b) of the Penal Code related to “statements with the intent to cause, or is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public”.
It appears that any criticism about government politicians and issues of corruption have been defined as threats to national security by the recently appointed Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali, who replaced Abdul Gani Patail only amid the fallout from the 1MDB issue.
Freedom of expression in Malaysia is rapidly declining, where any dissent is now considered a threat to public order and national security. Read more
