Ironically and most tragic as well, Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be speaking as the most “transformational” Malaysian and even world leader when he takes the rostrum of the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow to give his third UNGA speech in five years, representing Malaysia as the world’s most seditious country instead of fulfilling his three-year promise to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”.
Najib has not only beaten all the previous five Prime Ministers in chalking up the most number of sedition prosecutions in any Malaysian administration, including that of his father Tun Razak and his former mentor Tun Mahathir in a 22-year premiership, he can even claim credit as the only leader in the contemporary world who has sanctioned the most number of prosecutions under the arcane colonial law of sedition to suppress freedom of speech, criticism and dissent.
May be, Najib will be best remembered in history for his “transformation” in deviating from his promise to make Malaysia the world’s best democracy to become the world’s worst democracy with the “white terror” reign of malicious and selective misuse and abuse of the Sedition Act against the opposition, critics and dissent.
Can Najib explain to the United Nations General Assembly why Malaysians have suddenly in the past five years become the most seditious people in the nation’s 57-year history as well as being the most seditious people in the world, judging by the number of seditious prosecutions particularly in the past six weeks?
Already caught in the sedition dragnet are some 20 personalities representing a whole spectrum of backgrounds, from federal and state legislators like Teresa Kok, N Surendran, Khalid Samad, RSN Rayer to academician, reporter and social activists like Azmi Sharom, Susan Loone, Safwan Anang, Ali Abdul Jalil, Wan Ji Wan Hussin and Adam Adli.
I have been investigated for sedition, and so have others, including lawyer Edmund Bon.
Next week, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim may join a lengthening list of Malaysians hauled to court under the Sedition Act after the police re-opening of sedition investigations against Anwar tomorrow in connection with a ceramah speech Anwar made in March 2011.
Can Najib rebut on the floor of the UN General Assembly national and international charges that the latest action against Anwar is nothing but “blatant persecution”, especially when what Anwar said in March 2011 had not warranted any police investigation under the Sedition Act for more than three years?
This raises the question whether there is an ulterior agenda in the re-opening of the sedition investigation against Anwar – such as to intensify a climate of fear against legitimate comment and criticism in the country.
It would appear that the sedition dragnet is still in an active phase, nowhere near its end, which probably explains why the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had gone into an offensive to justify the sedition spree launched in the past six weeks, swearing that police would commence investigations “within 24 hours” of any sedition complaint.
Yesterday, the DAP MP for Segambut, Lim Lip Eng lodged police reports both against Prime Minister Najib and former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir for their past seditious statements.
Sedition reports have also been lodged in the past two days against Zahid himself and the former UMNO Minister and Selangor UMNO Chairman Datuk Noh Omar.
Have the police taken statements from Zahid, Noh Omar, Najib and Mahathir “within 24 hours” as publicly sworn and promised by Zahid that such police actions would be done?
In fact, the “within 24 hours” for the police reports lodged by Lip Eng against Najib and Mahathir have come and gone, and the police have as yet to commence any investigations on these two police reports!
Zahid has broken his public oath.
I am indeed tickled by Mahathir’s flippant response to the police report lodged by Lip Eng against him, declaring that he had no qualms being arrested if he has broken the law.
Mahathir had been a law unto himself, not only in his 22 years as fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia but even after he stepped down as Prime Minister 11 years ago.
Everybody knows that Mahathir had arrested Zahid under the Internal Security Act in 1998 but nobody would expect Zahid to dare to arrest Mahathir regardless of how many police reports are lodged against the former Prime Minister for the offence of sedition.
The rampage of sedition dragnet in the crackdown against the Pakatan Rakyat MPs, State Assemblymen, social activists ranging from the academia, the press, the law profession to the civil society, as if there is an upsurge of extremists drowning out the moderates in Malaysia in the past few years, is patently false and completely unwarranted and unjustifiable – making a total mockery of Najib’s signature initiative of a Global Movement of Moderates which had been the thrust of Najib’s two earlier speeches to the UN General Assembly in 2010 and 2013.
Is Najib going to admit the utter failure of this Global Movement of Moderates initiative, not only in the international arena as highlighted by the atrocities and crimes against humanity perpetrated by ISIS, but also in Malaysia because of the Barisan Nasional/UMNO government’s abandonment of the moderate path of democratic governance and resort to the “white terror” of malicious and selective misuse and abuse of Sedition Act to supress freedom of speech and stifle criticism and dissent?