The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres harsh criticism of countries using restrictions to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, to justify emergency measures to crush dissent and criminalise basic freedoms, is timely. Apart from Myanmar, Malaysia fits the bill with the proclamation of emergency suspending Parliament followed by investigation and prosecution against opposition politicians, professional journalists and independent media outlets such as Malaysiakini.
Even though no countries were mentioned, Guterres described the exact similar situation in Malaysia, “Using the pandemic as a pretext, authorities in some countries have deployed heavy-handed security responses and emergency measures to crush dissent, criminalise basic freedoms, silence independent reporting and curtail the activities of non-governmental organisations.”
Apart from the decline in fundamental freedoms, corruption has deteriorated with Malaysia dropping six rungs to 57th in the latest 2020 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index(CPI). Such a decline in fundamental freedoms and suspending Parliament is generally accompanied by increased corrupt practices. We can therefore expect Malaysia’s Transparency International CPI rankings to further deteriorate this year.
There is therefore a need to restore Parliament to allow the voices of the ordinary people to be heard. I have been informed by my lawyer and MP for Jelutong RSN Rayer that I am subject to police investigations for making such a call. However, I refused to be silenced and will continue to press for a return to Parliamentary democracy immediately to ensure that a government elected by the people can be restored.