Lim Guan Eng says the arrests and detentions of the journalists are excessive punishments
DAP today called for the immediate release of journalists from The Edge and The Malaysian Insider.
Stating that the arrests an “exercise in excessive victimization”, DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng said that the five arrested were acting within their scope of work as journalists when reporting on the Conference of Ruler’s alleged stand on hudud.
“If their reporting is wrong, they can be sued for defamation or punished with fines,” said Lim in a statement today.
Having won countless defamation suits against government funded Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times, he said that none of the journalists have had to face the same “harsh tactics” of the Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar (IGP).
“Where is the freedom of the press when those who write negative or wrong news about the BN government is immediately punished with unnecessary and unreasonable periods of detention?” he asked.
Last night, three TMI editors Lionel Morais, Amin Shah Iskandar and Zulkifli Sulong were detained at the Jinjang central lockup after their office in Mutiara Damansara was raided. The Star reported that the police had confiscated laptops and mobile phones during the raid.
The arrests of TMI chief executive Jahabar Sadiq and The Edge Media Group CEO, Ho Kay Tat were made today while giving their statements at the Dang Wangi police station.
Lim said that 150 opposition politicians and civil society activists have been arrested since February for various offenses, and that the IGP is practicing selecting prosecution by allowing pro government individuals a free hand at making provocative racial statements.
According to him, the actions of the IGP contradicts the latter’s Tweets saying that the police have adopted a “no tolerance” policy on sedition.
“Any sane Malaysian must be mad to believe the IGP’s claims that the police has no tolerance of sedition when he practices such blatant double-standards and selective prosecution,” Lim said.
He added that IGP was only targeting those who opposed Barisan National, whom he referred to as his “political masters”.
The five are investigated under Section 4 of the Sedition Act for publishing seditious material and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998. If found guilty, they can be fined up to RM5,000 and jailed up to three years or both. Under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, they can be fined up to RM50,000, jailed up to a year or both.
-The Rocket
