Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's allegation that Malaysians who criticise the government overseas are "traitors" is ridiculous and unbecoming of a democratic leader, human rights activist Irene Fernandez said in London yesterday.
She was referring to the comments made by Mahathir yesterday, which lambasted Keadilan youth leader Mohamad Ezam Nor for making trips to the US and Europe to highlight the erosion of democracy and human rights in Malaysia, especially the treatment of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
"Dissent is part of the political process in a democratic country. Any honest democratic leader should be open to criticism. Criticism is not an act of treason," she said. ,br> Dr Mahathir was quoted by AFP yesterday as saying that Malaysians who criticise their leaders while overseas are guilty of treason because they could deter foreign investors.
Ezam had earlier told AFP that he had met several aides to Republican Senator Jesse Helms and members of the Heritage Foundation during a recent trip to solicit support for Anwar.
Fernandez, who is head of women's rights group Tenaganita and a member of Keadilan's supreme council, was speaking at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where she gave a lecture on "Politics and Human Rights in Malaysia" to students, many of whom were Malaysians.
Fernandez also questioned whether Mahathir was actually afraid of criticisms levelled at him by the opposition.
"Instead of questioning the loyalty of opposition leaders to our country, he should focus on addressing these criticisms of him," she said.
"There is a sense that he is diverting the attention from other issues by targeting at certain leaders," she added.
She also expressed the view that Ezam, who is facing charges under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking classified documents, is a "target" because he has been able to garner a lot of support as a youth leader, especially among students.
"This is a reflection of the weakening of support for Umno among the youth," she said.
Apart from that, according to Fernandez, Ezam also has in his possession "a lot of information" about the wrongdoings of government ministers that he is sharing with the public.
Honorary doctrate
In her lecture, Fernandez spoke on a range of issues including the use of the Internal Security Act to detain political opponents, the use of other repressive laws, racial politics, police brutality and the Anwar crisis.
She is currently on trial for publishing "false news" on the torture and deaths of detainees in Malaysia's illegal immigrant camps.
Fernandez is in London for a short visit after receiving an honorary doctorate from an university in Amsterdam last week for her work with the human rights movement in Malaysia.
She is the latest in a series of opposition leaders who have come to give lectures to students here about the state of affairs in Malaysia in the last two years.
Other leaders who have been here include DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang, PRM president Dr Syed Husin Ali, PAS Terengganu exco member Mustaffa Ali, Keadilan's Ezam and Ruslan Kassim, and academician Prof KS Jomo.