(Oct 27): Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was given a list of questions to explain Putrajaya’s position on alleged abuse of laws to suppress freedom of expression but did not respond to the queries by international human rights body, Human Rights Watch (HRW).

HRW Asia division executive director Brad Adams, in a letter to Zahid on Aug 10, had asked for clarification on various issues for its report “Creating a Culture of Fear: The Criminalisation of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia” released in Kuala Lumpur today.

In the letter, Adams had asked Zahid, who is also the deputy prime minister, several questions on the use of the Sedition Act.

He was asked why Putrajaya opposed requests to stay the prosecution of cases under the colonial-era law pending the determination of its constitutionality in a challenge mounted by law lecturer Dr Azmi Sharom to sedition charges against him.

(On October 6, however, Azmi was ordered to stand trial after the Federal Court dismissed his move to challenge the constitutionality of the act.)

The HRW director also asked Zahid the government’s rationale in using sections 124B and 124C of the Penal Code against those planning or calling for peaceful assemblies, as these sections were intended to address terrorism and security offences.

“Penal Code section 130A(a) defines ‘activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy by violent and unconstitutional means’.

“Please explain how planning for, or engaging in a peaceful demonstration, constitutes ‘violent or unconstitutional means’,” Adams asked Zahid in the letter.

HRW also asked if the government was taking the position that it should censor the Internet, since the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) specifically stated that “nothing in this act shall be construed as permitting censorship of the internet”.

Adams said the CMA had been used to block access to the Sarawak Report website, in the prosecution of individuals for “offensive” comments on social media, and to investigate online news portal The Malaysian Insider for its reporting on a matter of public interest.

“Does the government now take the position that it can and should censor the Internet?”

Zahid was also asked why arrested individuals were held overnight or for several days when they came in voluntarily for questioning, such as in the case of lawyer and human rights activist Eric Paulsen.

Paulsen was arrested on Jan 12 at 8pm and held overnight and remanded for two days despite him agreeing to give his statement to the police on Jan 14.

Adams’s letter also cited the case of three editors from The Malaysian Insider who were arrested at 7pm on March 30 and held overnight, despite the fact that they had already agreed to cooperate fully with the investigation.

Similarly, Adams said Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar was arrested at home at 6pm on March 16 and detained overnight.

He asked Putrajaya to explain why it repeatedly requested remand of persons seen to be sympathetic to the opposition where there had been no evidence that they would interfere with the investigation or abscond if released.

The letter, which requested the home minister to respond by Sept 10 for inclusion in the HRW report, was also carbon copied to Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission chairman Datuk Seri Halim Shafie. – The Malaysian Insider