'Dr M worse than those charged with sedition'
Published: Sep 13, 2014 1:53 PM | Updated: Sep 13, 2014 7:35 PM
As the sedition dragnet widens, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears to be free to say anything without any repercussion, says DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang.
UPDATED 4.10PM
'Drop the sedition charges and explain its selective use.'
As the sedition dragnet widens, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears to be free to say anything without any repercussion, says DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang.
Lim said this in reference to Mahathir's comments on Thursday where he called Malays "lazy", not shameful of failure and couldn’t be trusted to handle money.
"DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders would have been arrested and hauled to court under the Sedition Act if they had said what Mahathir said two days ago," Lim said in a statement today.
Lim (left) added that if the current sedition charges were not done selectively, several more Umno leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, would have been hauled up.
He cited an example from the 13th General Election where Mahathir accused him of contesting in Gelang Patah, Johor, to incite the Chinese to hate the Malays and reject multi-racial power sharing.
However, Lim stressed that he was not advocating the use of the colonial era law against Umno leaders.
Explain selective use
"But Malaysians are entitled to know the reason for the sedition blitz against dissent and criticism when Mahathir and Umno Ministers and leaders had been guilty of even greater 'sedition'," he said.
Lim said it was best that the sedition charges against several politicians and activists be dropped, particularly in light of its discriminatory use when compared to the treatment of Umno leaders.
At least 18 prominent individuals have thus far been investigated, charged or convicted for sedition in recent months, including Lim.
In the most recent case yesterday, the dragnet snagged human rights lawyer Edmond Bon for his comments about non-Muslim and fatwas published on Jan 20.
Bon, who is presently overseas, was called in by the police to give his statement. He has said on Twitter that he will cooperate.
Separately, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said with yesterday's statement, Najib has proven himself to be a ‘hostage’ of extremist groups.
He was referring to Najib’s statement in which he said the government has yet to decide whether to repeal or to amend the Sedition Act, and that it is not in a hurry.
This is despite promising on several occasions since 2012 to replace the Sedition Act with the National Harmony Act. The latter act is being drafted by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“Clearly this flip flop by Najib shows that he can not stand up to extremists who want an elected dictatorship with authoritarian powers to violate basic human rights.
“By being hostage to extremists, Najib should admit that his Coalition of Moderates and 1Malaysia are doomed to failure,” Guan Eng said in a statement today.
Lim said this in reference to Mahathir's comments on Thursday where he called Malays "lazy", not shameful of failure and couldn’t be trusted to handle money.
"DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders would have been arrested and hauled to court under the Sedition Act if they had said what Mahathir said two days ago," Lim said in a statement today.Lim (left) added that if the current sedition charges were not done selectively, several more Umno leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, would have been hauled up.
He cited an example from the 13th General Election where Mahathir accused him of contesting in Gelang Patah, Johor, to incite the Chinese to hate the Malays and reject multi-racial power sharing.
However, Lim stressed that he was not advocating the use of the colonial era law against Umno leaders.
Explain selective use
"But Malaysians are entitled to know the reason for the sedition blitz against dissent and criticism when Mahathir and Umno Ministers and leaders had been guilty of even greater 'sedition'," he said.
Lim said it was best that the sedition charges against several politicians and activists be dropped, particularly in light of its discriminatory use when compared to the treatment of Umno leaders.At least 18 prominent individuals have thus far been investigated, charged or convicted for sedition in recent months, including Lim.
In the most recent case yesterday, the dragnet snagged human rights lawyer Edmond Bon for his comments about non-Muslim and fatwas published on Jan 20.
Bon, who is presently overseas, was called in by the police to give his statement. He has said on Twitter that he will cooperate.
Separately, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said with yesterday's statement, Najib has proven himself to be a ‘hostage’ of extremist groups.
He was referring to Najib’s statement in which he said the government has yet to decide whether to repeal or to amend the Sedition Act, and that it is not in a hurry.
This is despite promising on several occasions since 2012 to replace the Sedition Act with the National Harmony Act. The latter act is being drafted by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“Clearly this flip flop by Najib shows that he can not stand up to extremists who want an elected dictatorship with authoritarian powers to violate basic human rights.
“By being hostage to extremists, Najib should admit that his Coalition of Moderates and 1Malaysia are doomed to failure,” Guan Eng said in a statement today.
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