4 laws used to curb dissent post-GE13, says Forum Asia

7/27/2019 4 laws used to curb dissent post-GE13, says Forum Asia

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4 laws used to curb dissentpost-GE13, says Forum

AsiaFirst Published:5:59pm, Jul 26, 2013Last Updated:5:59pm, Jul 26, 2013

Nation

by Meena Lakshana

FZ.COM/Meena Lakshana

From left: Ahn, Suaram executive director E Nalini, Jayawardena and Kuandelivering the findings of the fact-finding mission of Forum-Asia.
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KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): The Malaysian government has used four laws

the Sedition Act 1948, the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, the Penal Code

and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 to curb dissent after

the 13th general election, a Bangkok-based human rights group said

today.

This was revealed by the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development

(Forum-Asia) which conducted a fact-finding mission from July 22 to 25 to

assess the socio-political situation in Malaysia in terms of freedom of

expression, assembly and association after the May 5 polls.

Forum-Asia East Asia programme associate Joses Kuan said the violations

of the freedom of expression and assembly included the seizure of party

publications, unfair media coverage and the clampdown of participation

and organisation of assemblies.

"Crackdowns on activists and opposition leaders seem to continue in the

wake of allegations of electoral irregularities in the post-election phase,

which led us to undertake this fact-finding mission, he said at a press

conference here.

"Looking at this context, we find that the pledges to reform and

rebranding is contradictory to what we see as a systematic post-election

crackdown, he added.

Former chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea

Kyong-Whan Ahn, one of the mission team members, said there were

many irregularities in these laws, both in substance and procedure, which

go against international standards.


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One example is the Peaceful Assembly Act, which prohibits "street

protests" but allows for a "moving assembly".

Senior human rights advocate Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, who was also

part of the mission team, said the vague provisions in the law can be

curbed by increasing the consultation in the process of drafting laws with

the public, civil society and specialist organisations like the Bar Council.

"If the laws are drafted in secret by the government and kept from public

scrutiny, then there are problems that will arise from the application of

the laws.

"It is actually important for the government as well because the less

confusion there is in a law, the more it helps the government to apply the

law better," said Kishali.

Kishali also said the Sedition Act is archaic and should be replaced by

modern standards of the law, which is being increasingly adopted by

South Asia and Southeast Asia.

"Of course, we cannot have people inciting racial or communal hatred, but

there are provisions in the Malaysia's Penal Code which provide for this.

So why have a separate law focused on sedition?" she said.

Questions on the AGs role

According to the findings of the mission team, selective persecusion

features strongly in all the issues it has examined.


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Selective persecution was significant before and after the 13th general

election took place, which raises questions over the discretion of the AG in

matters of prosecution, observed Kishali.

"Why is A prosecuted for sedition when calling for street protests against

the government whereas B who engage in an act of communal or racial

hatred is not prosecuted? So I think the role of the AG needs to be

examined more carefully in the wake developments in the region,

particularly neighbouring countries," she added.

She said the fact that the AG is beyond public scrutiny is problematic for

modern applications of the law.

"The AG has absolute discretion and cannot be reviewed by the courts or

any other authority and that is problematic by modern standards as the

AG is not a person who can exercise unfettered discretion," she said.

"The very concept of unfettered discretion is anathema to modern

standards. We don't get that accepted in modern law," she added.

Kishali said the judiciary in several countries such as Sri Lanka has studied

the AGs role in the systems and has decided that cases whereby mala

fide, or bad intent, is concerned, the courts would review the AGs

decision.

She also said the infringement of public freedom affects the voters right

to choice, which subsequently affects the process of a free and fair

election.


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"When laws relating to freedom of speech, assembly and association are

restricted in a manner that impacts on a voter's right to choice, the right

of holding a free and fair election is affected because although you have a

theoretical process of holding an election, when the right to informed

choices of a voter is affected, the ability to hold a proper election is

affected," she added.

She commended the Malaysian public and civil society for displaying

strong courage despite a "fairly restrictive and intimidating atmosphere".

Forum-Asia is a Bankok-based regional human rights group representing

47 non-governmental organisations in 16 countries across Asia.

The mission team is collecting information from various countries in the

region for documentation on the use of repressive laws after elections.

The mission was hosted by Forum-Asia member Suara Rakyat Malaysia

(Suaram) and the findings will be used in Malaysias upcoming Universal

Periodic Review in October

Read more:http://www.fz.com/content/4-laws-used-curb-dissent-post-ge13-says-forum-asia#ixzz2aABHxOIW

Putrajaya misused three laws in

GE13, says Forum AsiaBY MD IZWANJULY 26, 2013LATEST UPDATE: JULY 26, 2013 02:49 PM
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The

panelists at the Asian Solidarity and Human Rights forum held in Kuala Lumpur today. The Malaysian

Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, July 26, 2013.Putrajaya misused three laws, the Sedition Act

1948, Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984,

during the May 5 general election for selective prosecution and punishment,

according to regional human rights group Forum Asia.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia) said in its

preliminary report that the laws were technical and hard to understand for thepurpose of prosecution and punishment.

"We raised our concerns against these problematic laws which gives the power to

the government to carry out selective prosecution and punishment, towards certain

individuals.

"The government's promise to carry out reforms runs contrary to what they are

doing," Forum Asia representative Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena told reporters in Kuala

Lumpur today.

The preliminary findings of the forum, found that the government used the three acts

for the purpose of pressuring parties that had differing views from them.

"The government used the laws as a tool to suppress the right to freedom of speech

during GE13.


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"The arrests of activists and leaders of opposition parties continued even after

allegations of election fraud in the recent polls," said Joses Kuan, another

representative of the forum.

The government's actions were seen as clamping down on the people's right to

assemble freely and their right to freedom of speech, which is the right of every

citizen, said Seoul National University law professor Kyong Whan Ahn. - July 26

2013.

The preliminary findings of the forum, found that the government used the three acts for

the purpose of pressuring parties that had differing views from them.

"The government used the laws as a tool to suppress the right to freedom of speech

during GE13.

"The arrests of activists and leaders of opposition parties continued even afterallegations of election fraud in the recent polls," said Joses Kuan, another representative

of the forum.

The government's actions were seen as clamping down on the people's right to

assemble freely and their right to freedom of speech, which is the right of every citizen,

said Seoul National University law professor Kyong Whan Ahn.

- TMI

Full article: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?

option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMFollow us: @MsiaChronicle on Twitter

Scrutinise the Attorney Generals roleK Pragalath

| July 26, 2013

A regional NGO on a fact-finding mission here claims the Attorney General's role

'is not focused' and 'the law does not allow for his discretion to be reviewed'.
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMhttp://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMhttp://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMhttp://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMhttp://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=dKs-jk4VKr4OaJacwqm_6l&u=MsiaChroniclehttp://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/author/pragalath/http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMhttp://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMhttp://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=135302:here-is-the-verdict-najib-misused-3-laws-in-ge13-forum-asia&Itemid=2#ixzz2aABTY5EMhttp://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=dKs-jk4VKr4OaJacwqm_6l&u=MsiaChroniclehttp://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/author/pragalath/


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KUALA LUMPUR: A regional NGO has

questioned the role of Attorney General (AG) Abdul Gani Patail in allowing selective

prosecution against the public.

Posing a question, a senior lawyer from Sri Lanka Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, who is

part of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-Asia) asked:

Why is one charged under the Sedition Act for allegedly sensitive remarks while anotherwho threatens to burn the (Malay) Bible is let off without being charged?

Jayawadena is part of the Forum-Asia delegation who is on a fact-finding mission on the

freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in relation to the 13th general election.

She said AG Gani Patails role should be put under scrutiny.

Currently the AGs role is not focused. It is beyond scrutiny. He has absolute discretion

and the law here does not allow for his discretion to be reviewed.

It is an anathema to international practice. In other countries such as Sri Lanka the

court can state that the AG acted in bad faith, said Jayawardena.

She was referring to the recent prosecution of blogger Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee for

posting an insensitive remark in regard to the holy Ramadan month. At the same time,

others such as Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali had been let off over his claims that Malay

Bibles should be burned.

The other two members of the delegation are Koreas national human rights

commissioner and Seoul National Universitys law professor, Kyong Whan-Ahn, and

Forum Asias East Asia programme associate, Joses Kuan.

The trio also identified Malaysian laws that were deemed as repressive because it

curbed freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in regards to GE13.

The acts were Sedition Act 1948, Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, Printing Presses and

Publications Act 1984 and the Penal Code.

Law turned against people
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/07/26/scrutinise-the-attorney-generals-role/attachment/abdul-gani-patail-4/


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Jayawardena said that based on the four day mission, she concluded that the law

making process was extremely non-consultative.

A law is supposed to be for the good of the people but here it has been turned into an

enemy of the people and it is used as a tool to repress freedom.

We do have significant concerns and there is a serious lack of consultation with the civil

society, she said.

Taking the PAA as an example, she asked, At what point does a moving assembly

becomes a street protest? The lack of clarity causes the police to use arbitrary

measures.

Forum-Asia representative Kuan said that they decided to conduct a four-day fact finding

mission due to two reasons.

There appears to be a crackdown post-elections in Malaysia. Also it is that time in

South and Southeast Asian countries to conduct elections, said Kuan who cited

Cambodia as an example.

Cambodia would be holding its elections in several days.

Kyong meanwhile told reporters that they were unable to meet with representatives from

the Home Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and the AGs Chambers.

At this point Kuan added that they would still be open to dialogues with these officials.

The findings would be part of the Malaysian civil societys report in the Universal

Periodic Review on Malaysia that would be tabled in the United Nations in October thisyear.

4 laws used to curb dissent post-GE13, says Forum Asia

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