IGP: Don't politicise Paulsen's arrest
Inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar today urged all parties not to "politicise" the sudden arrest last night of activist lawyer Eric Paulsen under the Sedition Act, which he claimed to be lawful based on a tweet Paulsen made last week.
Inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar today urged all parties not to "politicise" the sudden arrest last night of activist lawyer Eric Paulsen under the Sedition Act, which he claimed to be lawful based on a tweet Paulsen made last week.
"It is a lawful arrest, made to ensure harmony in this multiracial society," Khalid said in a statement.
Paulsen ( left ) had last week tweeted that the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) was promoting extremism through the sermons it issued "every Friday".
"I would like to warn certain parties not to politicise or manipulate the issue of the arrest until it can affect public security," Khalid further said.
He also noted that the freedom of speech has its limits, and that certain boundaries should not be crossed in order to maintain harmony in the country.
Lawyers for Liberty - for which Paulsen serves as executive director - had condemned the sudden nature of the arrest as Paulsen was due to go to the Bukit Aman police headquarters today to give his statement regarding the police probe into his tweet.
'Human rights disaster zone'
They had also criticised the presence of more than 20 police personnel to arrest him, labelling it as a waste of police resources.
Paulsen had his laptop and mobile phone seized by the police as well.
Meanwhile, a human rights watchdog called the 'Human Rights Watch' has labelled Malaysia a "human rights disaster zone", following Paulsen's arrest.
"It is shocking that the IGP has little interest or commitment in stopping the ongoing plague of suspicious deaths in police custody, but has all the time in the world to stifle free speech and trumpet over Twitter the arrest minutes after it happened," said Human Rights Watch Asia Division deputy director Phil Robertson ( right ).
He added that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the government had "doubled down" on their bet that intimidation and intolerance is the "best way to hold on to power".
"There is no escaping a conclusion that the government's actions are severely threatening freedom of expression and fostering a climate of increased political and religious intolerance," he stressed.
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