A look back at sedition persecution in Malaysia

COMMENT One year ago, one of my lecturers, Associate Professor Dr Azmi Sharom, was charged with sedition. He was not the only one who was caught under the sedition law dragnet, for many others, from academicians to lawyers, students to activists and not to mention opposition politicians, are also facing similar charges.

The charge against Azmi in particular is seen as an attack on academic freedom, for this arose from his comment on the Perak Constitution Crisis back in 2009 and was reported online. Such prosecution would undoubtedly leave an unwanted precedent in the academia, which would lead to a culture of fear, with self-censorship practised in our speech, writing, performance and many other kinds of expression.

The reason I am writing this piece is so that we do not forget easily the crimes that were committed against democracy and human rights. In a country where many of such violations against human rights and undemocratic practices prevail, we move on from one issue to another to fast, thus allowing us to forget the injustice that happened in the past.

I hope that this piece of writing can allow readers to take a look at our Sedition Act from a different perspective...