Civil societies slam DAP man’s arrest, say it ‘makes no sense’

PETALING JAYA: Three civil societies have condemned the arrest of a DAP state assemblyman for sedition over a Facebook posting on the protests taking place in Thailand, saying it made no sense as it was not relevant to the Malaysian context.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 and the Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) cast doubt on Ronnie Liu’s arrest based on a posting he made about the political situation in another country.

“The investigation initiated against Ronnie Liu does not make any sense in the context of the laws and legal thresholds in Malaysia.

“It is farfetched for the police and the ‘public’ complainant to read into the post and insinuate that such a post can be construed as an affront to the Malaysian monarchy,” the three organisations said in a joint statement.

Liu was nabbed this morning for sedition after arriving for questioning at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters. He has since been released on police bail.

Yesterday, it was reported that Liu was being probed over a social media posting said to be seditious towards the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The post on his Facebook page contained a photo of demonstrations in Thailand with the caption, “Now in Bangkok. They are saying no to the King.”

But Suaram, Bersih 2.0, and CIJ argued that the Sedition Act 1948 is purely domestic in its nature and “does not outlaw any commentaries or critique against foreign governments or other entities.”

Therefore police, they said, must explain to the public in what context was the Act cited and used to arrest and detain the Sungai Pelek assemblyman.

“Failing to do so, the police can only be described as acting arbitrarily and against Malaysian law and Malaysian interest as they have arrested and detained a peoples’ representative for a mere notification on the political development of a neighbouring country without any due justification.”

Source: Free Malaysia Today