Sunday, 21 September 2014

Government in Paranoia

Photo: The sedition crackdown continues. http://s.m5.malaysiakini.com/news/275133.html This time, police arrested Syafiq Abdul Wahid for allegedly having a parody Facebook page called ,"Persatuan Kongsi Gelap Melayu", telling a fictional story about a "legendary" Malaysian thug named " Ayah". Syafiq Abdul Wahid was arrested at his workplace at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 3am today and was taken to Serdang police station, said lawyer Michelle Yesudas. Syafiq has been remanded for three days. Police suspect that he is the administrator for the Facebook page 'Persatuan Kongsi Gelap Melayu', she said when contacted. According to the Facebook page 'Persatuan Kongsi Gelap Melayu' (The Association of Malay Secret Societies), the page is about a "legendary" Malaysian thug. It chronicles fictional character 'Ayah' and his gory and often out-of-this-world adventures. The description on the page reads: "Kisah ayah legend yang sembang kuat… Why so serious? Ni troll laaa bangang…,("This is the story of a legendary godfather who likes to talk big… Why so serious? I’m just trolling, stupid…)." In the latest post, 'Ayah' recounts how he slapped a loan shark so hard that the outline of his hand is imprinted onto the loan shark's back. 'Ayah' also showed a picture of the loan shark's back as evidence of his prowess. Without saying much, Ayah took out my pistol and shot the smelly loan agreement in the loan shark's hand thrice. "Ayah blew off the smoke from the gun and folded the gunshot-riddled document into his pocket." The page has 5,247 'likes' as at 3.30pm today. Lawyers, activists, a journalist, an academic have come under the sedition dragnet in the past month. 1, Last week activist Ali Abdul Jalil was slapped with three charges of sedition over Facebook posting he allegedly made. The Sedition Act is not the only Act used against social media users. 2. On Sep 9, Facebook user Chow Mun Fai was sentenced to one year’s jail under the Communications and Multimedia Act for insulting Muslims. 3. On Sep 15, Twitter user Victor Wong was charged under the same Act for insulting the inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar. Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2012 promised to repeal the Act but now says the government is reviewing whether to amend or replace the it. He says that this is due to opposing stakeholder views on the repeal. MEANWHILE..... LAWYERS ON THE MARCH.... http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/275156 The Malaysian Bar has passed a motion to organise a peaceful protest against the recent spate of arrests under the Sedition Act. Proposed by the Bar Council, it was passed after debate during the Bar's extraordinary general meeting at Wisma MCA today. The motion was triggered by the flurry of arrests under the Act, which saw politicians, activists and a law lecturer being charged for making allegedly seditious remarks. Bar Council president Christopher Leong (right) said that the motion was passed with an overwhelming vote of 701 to 13. He also commende the high turnout of 986 members today, he said. "The Malaysian Bar mandates the Bar Council to immediately organise a peaceful protest in the form of a walk," Leong said. He said that the logistics of the march, including the date and venue, has not been set but waiting “three to six months” would be "too long". He also vowed that the walk will not be a “one-off” action in the Bar’s campaign against the Act. "Our #MansuhAktaHasutan campaign launched on Sept 4 will be a fluid and ongoing campaign," he said. Moratorium The Bar had also resolved to condemn the Sedition Act and called the government to abide by its pledge to repeal the Act. It also called on a moratorium on the use of the Act, and for the proposed National Harmony Act not to be a "recast of the Sedition Act". "The Malaysian Bar is against the use and abuse of the Sedition Act because it is of the view that you cannot stop discussion, debate or criticism as they are all integral parts of the thinking and maturing process," he said. The Bar had previously led processions against police abuse and the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011. The 'Walk for Justice' was held in 2007 where 2,000 lawyers marched 3.5km to the Prime Minister's Department in Putrajaya demanding that a royal commission of inquiry be established to stem the slide in the judiciary. The march succeeded in compelling then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to set up a royal commission of inquiry into the infamous Lingam Tape on appointment of judges.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)