The government's increasingly wide sedition dragnet is now stretching to the academia, with law lecturer Azmi Sharom set to be charged with under the Sedition Act as well tomorrow.

Azmi (left) will be charged in a sessions court tomorrow for an article published in The Malay Mail Online on Aug 14.

He is a law lecturer at Universiti Malaya and has commented on the Selangor menteri besar crisis in the article.

The portal cited the Dang Wangi police as confirming that Azmi would be charged under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Act.

Malaysiakini has contacted Azmi over the matter but he has declined to comment.
 
Azmi will be the first non-politician to be charged for sedition since the recent dragnet intensified in August.
 
He will also be the first to be charged in September.

Lawyers Gobind Singh Deo and Malik Imtiaz will be representing Azmi tomorrow at the court.
 
A hashtag called #mansuhaktahasutan, (abolish sedition act), has been picking up pace in Twitter fervently since news about Azmi's charge broke out. The hashtag has been around since the recent dragnet, but has further picked up pace today.
 
Last month alone, a slew of Pakatan politicians faced sedition charges.
 
Among them are PKR's Padang Serai MP N Surendran, who was charged twice with sedition in the space of just as many weeks, PKR's Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, former Perak menteri besar Nizar Jamaluddin, and PAS' Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.

DAP's Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer has also drawn two counts of sedition.

If the charge against Azmi is related to comments made regarding the Selangor royalty, he would be the third individual to face the sedition web for similar reasons.
 
Khalid Samad had already been charged for comments he made about curtailing the powers of the Selangor Islamic Council (Mais), which upset the Sultan of Selangor, Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
 
Johor PKR vice-president Hassan Karim was also probed under sedition for recent Twitter postings that was allegedly insulting to Selangor royalty.

Reactions to Azmi's case
 
Here are some of reactions from prominent public figures regarding the charge against Azmi, via social networking site Twitter:
 
Ambiga Sreenevasan, former Bersih co-chairperson:
 
So Azmi Sharom is to be charged. Now I know for sure that they have lost it.
 
Eric Paulsen (right), co-founder and executive director of Lawyers for Liberty:
 
Malaysia has seriously gone sedition bonkers- now even a law professor like Azmi Sharom giving views is considered seditious.
 
Syahredzan Johan, civil liberties lawyer:
 
I think students of Azmi should at least try to make it to KL Sessions tomorrow.

Lim Kit Siang, DAP parliamentary leader: 
 
2014 Merdeka Day marks Ops Lalang 2.
 
NGO Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram):
 
Another charge on sedition. Make no mistake- it is indeed an orchestrated crackdown on dissent.

Fahmi Zainol, Universiti Malaya Students Association President (statement):
 
PMUM condemns the action against Dr Azmi Sharom and we invite all undergraduates and the people to come down to the Kuala Lumpur court at 9.30am tomorrow to show solidarity.
 
Malaysia Youth and Students' Democratic Movement (statement):
 
We urge all students in this country to stand in solidarity with Professor Azmi Sharom. 
 
We also demand Najib Razak to resign as the prime minister of Malaysia for allowing the oppressive laws to continue to haunt the people despite his announcement to abolish them in 12 July 2012.


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