(Ipoh, Friday): Although the police has revoked the
RM3,000 police bail in connection with my arrest for distributing “No
to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign leaflet at the
Pasir Pinji Market a month ago, the
serious case of sedition is still hanging over my head and I can be arrested and
prosecuted under the Sedition Act any time, an offence entailing a maximum three
years’ jail, RM5,000 fine, or both.
I have been told that the investigation papers had been
sent to Kuala Lumpur but the Ipoh police has not received any directive on the
decision from the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the case, and although my
police bond has been revoked, I could be arrested and prosecuted any time
depending on the instructions from Kuala Lumpur.
It is an adverse reflection on the efficiency and low
productivity of the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers that they could
not take a final decision on a simple
and straight-forward case after one
full month.
This is a classic case of the police arresting a person and then trying to find out whether an offence had been committed – when in a law-abiding society where the rule of law is sacrosanct, the police only arrest people when there is a clear case that an offence had been committed.
In a few hours, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir
Mohamad would be leaving for an official tour of Thailand, and the Deputy Prime
Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, would be the Acting Prime Minister
for the first time in 42 months since first
appointed as Mahathir’s
deputy.
I call on Abdullah to show new authority as Acting Prime
Minister and direct the police not
to undermine public confidence in the police
by turning the law upside
down in arresting people and then finding out whether a crime had been
committed.
Secondly, I call on Abdullah to declare whether the state
of democracy and human rights has deteriorated to a stage where Malaysians can
only agree to the arbitrary and unilateral “929 Declaration” by Mahathir
that Malaysia is an Islamic State but will commit an offence of sedition if they
oppose or criticize the “929 Declaration”.
Abdullah was a top civil servant and later a member of the
administration of the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak
and Tun Hussein Onn, and he should know their clear and unequivocal stand that
Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as the official religion but not an
Islamic state.
Abdullah should direct the police to stop criminalizing
legitimate political activities as the police’s top priority is to fight
crime, maintain law and order and build a new image as a people-friendly police force and not be the tools and puppets
of ruling political parties and politicians.
Actually, I want to thank the Ipoh police and the MCA
MP for Ipoh Timor, Thong Fah Chong, for my arrest a month ago, which had
helped to catapult the “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” to national
limelight – as we were facing great difficulty until then to create the public
awareness about the critical importance of the issue involved.
However, although I thank them for being a great help in
the campaign, it is no excuse or
justification for their abuse of
powers.
(5/7/2002)