The DAP condemns the move to charge Padang Serai MP and lawyer N. Surendren with sedition over remarks he is alleged to have made on opposition leader Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy II case.
We have always been against the use of the Act which we have said can be abused. This is yet another example of it.
The Prime Minister made a pledge to do away with this act but what we see happening is the complete opposite. We see more and more people, in particular members from the opposition being charged.
The position is made worse in this case by the fact that no statement has yet been recorded from Surendren in respect of this matter.
This to my mind is a clear abuse of process. The reason the law demands that a statement be taken from a suspect is to ensure that he is given a right to be heard and his defence considered even before a decision is made as to whether to charge him or not.
Why has that not been done in this case? How did the AG come to a decision to charge Surendren even before and without taking into account what Surendren has to say?
This demonstrates the somewhat pathetic state of affairs of the criminal justice system in Malaysia today.
The Prime Minister has failed miserably to live up to his promises for reform, to repeal outdated and draconian laws and to enhance freedom of expression in Malaysia. He has failed to live up to his promise to make Malaysia what he in his own words described as the worlds “best democracy”.