Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) said that this is especially vital as recent judicial decisions has caused growing pessimism over the judiciary’s ability to stand between the people and abuse of power.
“(The) series of unsavoury judicial decisions once again lend credence to the widely held public perception that when it comes to politically-motivated cases, the criminal justice system is not impartial, free and independent.
“LFL therefore calls upon the judiciary to uphold its oath of office – to bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia and preserve, protect and defend the federal constitution and the fundamental rights guaranteed therein,” LFL executive director Eric Paulsen
said.
He said that failure to stop the blitz will see a continuance of “rampant and indiscriminate use” of the Sedition Act “to target all and sundry for anything remotely contentious”.
The operation akin to Ops Lalang II, he said, will only result in the stifling of civil liberties and creation of a “climate of fear”.
Among cases which has contributed to the pessimism, he said, is the judiciary’s seeming inability to stop the multiple sedition charges against activist Ali Abdul Jalil.
Paulsen said that Ali is being “dragged” from Selayang to Shah Alam to Johor Bahru for “what are essentially mere Facebook postings that should be considered as the same transaction”.
He pointed out that instead, the judiciary could have insisted that Ali be charged once and tried in Kuala Lumpur where he resides and where the offences were allegedly committed.
Other cases of concern, he said, include the lengthy one year’s jail sentence against Facebook user Chow Mun Fai for insulting Muslims on the social networking site.
Chow, who was initially charged with sedition pleaded guilty under the Communications and Multimedia Act.
“It’s trite law that by pleading guilty, Chow should have received one-third discount of the sentence he would have received had he claimed trial,” he said, noting that fines are more common for the offence he had committed.
Similarly, he said, the 10 and 12 months’ jail sentence for former student activists Safwan Anang and Adam Adli Abdul Halim were also “disproportionate” and smells of political interference.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said that the Malaysian authorities’ sedition investigation into opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is blatantly politically motivated.
“This case is clearly political and smacks of persecution – the investigation should be dropped immediately.
"Anwar Ibrahim has been a favourite target of the authorities for more than a decade, and this appears to be the latest attempt to silence and harass a critical voice,” said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.
He also said that the Sedition Act is an outdated and repressive piece of legislation that the authorities are using to target anyone who speaks out against those in power.
“It must be repealed immediately.There has been a disturbing increase in the use of the Sedition Act over the past few months against individuals who have done nothing but peacefully express their opinions. This crackdown is creating a climate of fear in Malaysia and must end," said Abbott.
In 2012, Prime Minister Najib Razak publicly committed to repealing the draconian law stating that it represented “a bygone era”, but two years later his promise remains unfulfilled.
Msiakini News
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