Harakah editor Zulkifli Sulong's conviction under the Sedition Act today has been described as a "blow to press freedom".

DAP leader Lim Guan Eng said he could not comprehend why the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court proceeded with the charges against Zulkifli when a related contempt charge against a former opposition leader was dropped two years ago.

"I don't understand why he was found guilty, it doesn't make sense at all. This is another blow to press freedom when we are celebrating World Press Freedom Day tomorrow," he said.

Zulkifli (photo) was charged under the Sedition Act in 2001 for publishing in Harakah an article allegedly written by former Keadilan deputy president Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

Questions raised

The article originally appeared o­n the Internet and accused the Attorney General's Chambers, the media and the court system of conspiring together against Anwar whose trial was o­n-going then.

Chandra was charged with contempt of court but this was subsequently dismissed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court o­n the ground that the identity of the author could not be ascertained.

Lim said the court decision in Zulkifli's case would surely raise questions among the public as to why the authorities o­nly pursued sedition charges against opposition figures.

"There are so many police reports lodged against Barisan Nasional politicians but no actions have been taken. It is apparent that selective prosecution is involved here," he said.

Lim was the member of Parliament for Kota Melaka and DAP deputy secretary-general until he was convicted in 1997 under the Sedition Act.

He was sentenced to 18 months in jail for "prompting disaffection with the administration of justice" (photo).

This was in relation to his criticism in 1994 of the government's handling of allegations of statutory rape against then chief minister of Melaka, Abdul Rahim Tamby Chik.

The 15-year-old girl involved then had admitted to having sex with Rahim. She was sent to a rehabilitation centre for wayward girls for three years but Rahim was not charged as the prosecution argued that there was insufficient evidence.

No grounds given

Lawyer and DAP deputy chairperson Karpal Singh said it was regrettable that Sessions judge Rosenani Abdul Rahman did not give any grounds for Zulkifli's conviction this morning.

"Grounds should be given so that he (Zulkifli) can decide whether he wants to appeal against the decision. Any decision must be accompanied with the grounds to satisfy the accused, especially in an important case like this," he said.

He stressed that any charge or conviction under the Sedition Act should not have taken place because the legislation itself was an "outdated o­ne".

"Many countries have done away with the Sedition Act or similar laws. Malaysia is o­ne of the few countries which are keeping this relic from the British colonial days," he said.

Karpal was previously charged under the Sedition Act in 2000 for a remark which he made while defending former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim during the latter's sodomy trial.

The lawyer had said Anwar was poisoned with arsenic in prison and that it was done by top national leaders who wanted to get rid of Anwar. The charge against Karpal was dropped early last year.

The Sedition Act, first enacted in 1948, was amended following the 1969 racial riots to prohibit any discussion of citizenship rights, Malay special rights, status and power of Malay rulers, status of Islam and Bahasa Melayu as the official religion and language respectively.

Since 1980s, less than 10 cases of sedition were taken to court.

Among those charged were former Bar Council vice-chairperson Param Cumaraswamy and former Keadilan vice-president Marina Yusof.

Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan is currently being investigated for publishing a letter said to be seditious.