Ambiga slams NUJ for silence on sedition dragnet
Former Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan has questioned the silence of the National Union of Journalists' (NUJ) on the spate of arrests under the Sedition Act.
Former Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan has questioned the silence of the National Union of Journalists' (NUJ) on the spate of arrests under the Sedition Act.
"NUJ, where are you? Why aren't you standing up?" she asked, after the launch of the National Young Lawyers Committee's (NYLC) #MansuhAktaHasutan campaign last night.
Ambiga had earlier lamented how the Sedition Act had been used to charge dissidents who "do not even look like criminals", in reference to the police action against Penang state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh for saying he was treated like a criminal.
Citing politicians and activists who had been hauled to the court, she asked: "Do any of them look like criminals to you?"
Commenting that the Act had even been used against journalists who "are just doing their job", Ambiga urged the NUJ to "stand up and say something" on the matter.
"Journalists have to come out and support those who are facing this oppression. And I include journalists from the mainstream media, for it may happen to you tomorrow," she said.
Referring to Malaysiakini journalist Susan Loone ( left ) who was arrested under the Sedition Act yesterday for her report on Phee’s arrest, Ambiga said that she did not know how "anyone could find it in their hearts to do what they are doing to her (Loone)".
Loone was arrested under the Act for her interview with Phee, in which the 62-year-old exco member told Malaysiakini : "They asked me all sorts of questions, snapped my photographs and took my fingerprints, just as they would do to a criminal."
She was released on police bail at 11.45pm, almost nine hours after she arrived at the Northeast District police headquarters in Penang for questioning at 3pm. She is ordered to report back to the police on Oct 3.
Loone and Malaysiakini are being investigated under Section 4(1)(c) of the 1948 Sedition Act for publishing an interview with Phee, when he was in police custody early on Monday, on his role as head of the state's Voluntary Patrol Unit (PPS), which the police have declared as illegal.
‘Case of shooting the messenger’
Meanwhile, journalist advocacy group Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) has condemned Loone’s arrest and described it as “appalling”.
“In a classic case of shooting the messenger. Loone has been detained by police for reporting what somebody else has said,” CIJ director Sonia Randhawa ( right ) said in a statement yesterday.
Sonia lamented that the arrest is a part of a “spate investigations that are clearly aimed at curtailing legitimate voices of dissent”.
According to her, Loone’s arrest also goes against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s claim of commitment to free debate and discussion.
Sonia argued that Phee’s remark is not seditious.
“While generally supportive of the police, Phee also said that he had been treated ‘like a criminal’. It is the right of individuals, regardless of standing, to complain about their treatment at the hands of the authorities, especially the police,” she said.
“These complaints should be taken seriously, and if necessary, investigated impartially, so that we can strengthen both the capacity and the public image of our officials.”
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