Bail revoked but police file on Kit Siang's seditious leaflets not closed
Ipoh police today revoked a police bail on DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang who was arrested last month for distributing 'seditious' leaflets.
Lim was detained for several hours on June 6 for distributing his party's "No to 929" leaflets alleged to contain seditious statements critical of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state.
He was later released on a RM3,000 bail and was told to be present at the Ipoh Magistrate's Court today.
When contacted this afternoon, Lim said although the police bail had been cancelled, the file on the case has not been closed.
"They (the police) said there was no directive from Kuala Lumpur. The case is now just hanging over my head. I can still be prosecuted at any time," claimed the veteran politician.
According to him, the case was referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers in Kuala Lumpur but the latter had failed to make a decision on whether the leaflets contained seditious materials, as alleged by the police.
Look for excuses
"The police should only arrest when there is a clear case of an offence being committed and not arrest first and then look for excuses to explain their actions," Lim stressed.
The party leader also said he intends to call upon Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to seek an explanation if principles of democracy and human rights had deteriorated to such an extent that the public is not allowed to oppose the Islamic state declaration by Mahathir.
Meanwhile, in a related case, Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham told malaysiakini that the police have yet to return some 5,000 copies of campaign leaflets that they seized from the party's Perak headquarters two days after Lim's arrest.
Ngeh said the police are likely to have finished their investigation after interviewing several of the party's members but no decision has been made on the matter to date.
"We are still awaiting the final decision on the matter. We don't know why the matter has to be submitted to the AG's Chambers. The Ipoh police should be able to decide on this," he added.
Ngeh claimed it is not a regular practice for police to submit findings of their investigations to the AG for consideration.
"We ask that there should not be special consideration on this case. The investigations should not be influenced by considerations of political personalities involved," he said.
The Ipoh police were unavailable for comment.
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