The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has slammed the authorities for overreacting to the incident of the teenage  schoolboy who 'liked' a pro-Israel Facebook page.

Suhakam is of the view that the reported sedition probe of the 17-year-old is an overreaction on the part of the police, said chairperson Hasmy Agam in a statement today.

"It is unfortunate to note that the teachers concerned had failed to handle the matter responsibly as educators and instead created a situation that has violated the basic rights of the student, contrary to the spirit and articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Malaysia is a state party," he added.

Hasmy said the heavy handed action was an example of how the Sedition Act is misused when the matter could have been easily resolved.

"Such an incident is another example of how the Sedition Act can restrict freedom of expression.

"This matter could have been resolved through other approaches without having to invoke the Sedition Act or to expose the student to criticisms and threats by various parties."

The commission also told the authorities to "practise restraint" in their actions especially in matters concerning the social media, and "not to partake in any actions that promote ignorance and hatred".

The police are probing a Form Five student from Simpang Ampat, Penang for sedition after he clicked 'Like' on the 'I Love Israel' Facebook page.

Penang police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi said they schoolboy is being investigated under Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act and if convicted will be fined up to RM5,000, jailed up to three years, or both.

Probe on student who ‘liked’ pro-Israel FB page finished