Last Saturday during the Bersih 5 rally, arrests were made on protesting activists and members of the opposition, one of them being DAP’s Howard Lee, ADUN for Pasir Pinji and President of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), the largest youth political organization in the world with more than 130 active member organizations from 100 countries.
Howard was arrested under articles 147 and 511 of the Penal code for, reportedly, inciting a riot. He was having lunch when he was arrested.
Mere hours after the arrest was made, messages of international solidarity started pouring in from across the globe, from as far as Bulgaria to our Southeast Asian neighbours Philippines, and Timor Leste.
This morning, Howard’s arrest continues to generate international outrage when Member of the European Parliament Tibor Szanyi tabled a motion in the EU Parliament questioning Howard’s arrest and urging the EU Commission on Human Rights to put together a concrete action plan to address the worsening human rights situation in Malaysia.
There is currently a coordinated effort within the international socialist youth community to protest in front of Malaysian embassies overseas to show their outrage towards the draconic Malaysian government and to demand the immediate release of Howard Lee and the 7 others still currently detained, including DAP’s Anthony Loke.
In behalf of DAP and the Bureau of International Affairs, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the international community who continues to support us in our struggle for freedom, equality, and justice.
At press time, Howard Lee has been released alongside other detainees with the exception of DAP’s Anthony Loke and Bersih Chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah. Charges for the group have not been cleared.