Subang MP R Sivarasa defended the Selangor state government’s support for Sri Muda assemblyperson Shuhaimi Shafiei, saying that it was in line with full democracy.

“The most obvious reason for the Selangor government to give him financial support is the fact that Suhaimi, a Pakatan Rakyat member of the Selangor State Assembly, is now facing a politically-motivated prosecution under a draconian law initiated in colonial times to stifle free speech.

kapar pkr polling 141110 sivarasa “On that score alone, Selangor Pakatan, as a government advocating full democracy, will be duty bound to support his defence,” he said in a statement.

Sivarasa ( right ), a lawyer by profession, also said there could be no objection when the state government, in the same vein, provided legal assistance when protesters at a state government-organised demonstration get arrested under the Police Act.

There could also be no objection if the state government attempts to free him or her if a Pakatan lawmaker was suddenly arrested under the Internal Security Act, “another BN draconian creation”, according to Sivarasa.

“Simply put, the Selangor Pakatan government is correct in principle to put its money where its mouth is and in principled opposition to politically-motivated criminal prosecutions using oppressive laws,” he said.

azlan Shuhaimi was charged on Monday for allegedly posting a seditious article on his blog over the appointment of former Selangor Islamic Religious Department director Mohammed Khusrin Munawi as the latest state secretary.

But even before he was charged, the state government had said it would support Shuhaimi through his trial, as well as foot his legal bills in his “effort for justice”, prompting brickbats from certain quarters.

To that, Sivarasa said Kedah Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang and Gaps chairperson Hamidzun Khairuddin, who had objected to the state footing the legal bills, “only show their lack of understanding of the duty of the state to ensure access to justice”.

“The ignorant objectors we are hearing should appreciate that a civilised society goes even much further.  

“Developed democracies all over the world put billions of dollars to fund legal aid systems and lawyers to defend their ordinary citizens facing criminal prosecutions for all sorts of ordinary criminal offences,” he said.

Need for effective legal aid

Sivarasa also called for a more effective legal aid system in the country, mirroring that of developed Western countries.

“It is high time the BN federal government realises that the RM25 million currently used annually to fund our existing, pitiful legal aid system needs to be expanded many times over.  

“We should be spending much more per capita to fund a truly effective legal aid system, particularly for persons arrested and remanded in police lock-ups,” he said, giving examples of how Australia, United Kingdom and Canada spend billions.

He also called for a limited pilot legal aid project, although it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide full-fledged legal aid systems.

“This is to demonstrate Pakatan’s commitment to full-fledged legal aid systems under a future Pakatan federal government. Access to justice must always remain a cornerstone of any equitable and fair legal system,” he said.