(Petaling Jaya,
Sunday): I wish to protest in the strongest possible terms against
my second police arrest and second sedition charge hanging over my head over the
DAP’s “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign.
This morning, at about 9.15 a.m., the Port Dickson police
arrested me and another five DAP Negri Sembilan state/branch leaders under the
Sedition Act 1948 at the
launching the “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” People’s
Awareness Campaign at the Port Dickson wet market to
distribute the campaign pamphlet urging Malaysians to use their democratic
and constitutional right to defend and uphold the 1957 Merdeka Constitution, the
“social contract” and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement that Malaysia is a
democratic, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official
religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic state.
The other five arrested are Gunasekaran a/l Palasamy, DAP
Central Executive Committee member and DAP Negri Sembilan State
Deputy Chairman, Wong Hon Chuan, state assistant secretary, John
Fernandez state assistant publicity
secretary, Arumugam a/l
Karuppan state director of political bureau and Yew Koang Soo, Vice Chairman
Lukut DAP Branch.
I was only informed that the arrests were made under
Section 4(i)© of the Sedition Act 1948 for the offence of distributing a seditious publication, which is liable to maximum sentence of three years jail, RM5,000
fine or both, well after we were brought to the police station from the wet
market – another deplorable case of arrest first and look for the offence
later.
Following our arrests, police statements were recorded from
all the six of us, where I told the police investigation officer that these were
false and unlawful arrests, constituting a serious abuse of police
powers.
All six of us were released without having to post bail,
but we could be charged and prosecuted any itme
under the Sedition Act following our arrest, pending instructions from
the police higher-ups.
Although the six of us were subsequently released without
having to post bail, this will be my second police arrest in connection with the
DAP’s “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign
and the second sedition charge to hang over my head over the distribution of the
DAP’s “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign
pamphlet.
My first police arrest over the “No to 911, No to 929,
Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign was in Ipoh on June 5, where I was
released on RM3,000 bail and required to report to the police to July 5.
When I returned to the Ipoh Police District Headquarters a month later,
the RM3,000 police bail was cancelled but I was informed that I could be
arrested and prosecuted any time pending the instructions from Bukit Aman in
Kuala Lumpur.
Now, I am having the serious charge of sedition hanging
over my head the second time, where I had been arrested but released without
having to post police bond, but allowing the
police the second opportunity to charge me for sedition in connection with the
“No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign.
A police officer had told me in Johore Bahru on Monday when
I was in the Johore state capital to launch the campaign
that the “No to 929” pamphlet was seditious and that it could not be
distributed to the public, although there was no follow-up police action when
the DAP “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign
proceeded as scheduled in Taman
Johor Jaya in Johore Bahru later the same night.
I do not know whether this was because of the two pending
Pendang and Anak Bukit by-elections in Kedah at the time, and whether the police
arrests in Port Dickson this morning was the result of
the Barisan Nasional victory in one of the two Kedah by-elections last
Thursday. If so, then it is fortunate that the Barisan Nasional did not win both
the by-elections or there would be
even more intolerable abuse of power and violation of the constitutional and
democratic rights of Malaysian citizens.
The Attorney-General, Datuk Gani Patail should decide
without any delay whether it is a sedition offence to say “No” to any
attempt to change the 44-year 1957 Merdeka Constitution, the “social
contract” and the 1963 Malaysia Agreement that Islam is the official religion
but Malaysia is not an Islamic State – such as the “929 Declaration” by
the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at the Gerakan national
conference on September 29 last year that Malaysia is an Islamic state.
If it is a sedition offence to uphold and defend the
principle that Islam is the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic
state, then the 1957 Merdeka Constitution is a “seditious” Constitution, and
the first three Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and
Tun Hussein Onn had all committed sedition as they had at one time or another
publicly proclaimed this fundamental constitutional principle in Malaysia.
In fact, in February 1983, Tunku Abdul Rahman made a strong
and powerful call that Malaysia should not be turned into an Islamic state –
which is the subject of a “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957” Campaign
poster.
As I had not been charged for sedition after my Ipoh arrest
in June, I call on the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri
Norian Mai to issue a clear directive to all police officers in the
country to stop harassing the DAP’s “No to 911, No to 929, Yes to 1957”
People’s Awareness Campaign and to respect the democratic and constitutional
rights of Malaysians to carry out their legitimate
political activities.
DAP will not allow these false and unlawful police arrests
under the Sedition Act to deter us from continuing our “No to 911, No to 929,
Yes to 1957” People’s Awareness Campaign, which is a patriotic and
nationalist campaign to defend the integrity of the 1957 Merdeka Constitution
– a campaign not against any race or religion but for the rights of all races
and religions as entrenched in the Constitution.
DAP Negri Sembilan will launch the campaign in Seremban tomorrow morning, and I will be launching the campaign in Kampar and Segamat tomorrow, Batu Pahat and Taman Tun Aminah (Johore Bahru) on Tuesday and Taman Sentosa (Johore Bahru) on Wednesday.
(21/7/2002)