Malaysia shows troubling signs of an escalating crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly, says a human rights group.

Amnesty International’s Malaysia Researcher Hazel Galang-Folli indicated that the arrests of dozens of protesters as well as two human rights lawyer, Eric Paulsen ( right ) and Michelle Yesudas in separate incidents, contributed to this.

“These latest in a string of recent arrests point to a clear and worrying trend and reveal the very grim reality of the Malaysian authorities’ stance on upholding basic freedoms.

“The space for dissent and debate in Malaysia is rapidly shrinking, under the guise of punishing ‘sedition’ or maintaining public order,” she said in a statement today.

Yesterday, police detained 79 activists during a sit-in protest at the Federal Territories Customs Complex in Petaling Jaya, while three more, believed to be university students, were arrested in front of the Kelana Jaya police station.

All 79 detained were among the 100 who showed up to demand answers to the 106 questions regarding the goods and tax service (GST).

Lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, who had been outside the police station, recounted how the anti-riot police went “berserk” and charged at the crowd without the mandatory three-minute dispersal notice.

Early this week lawyers Eric and Michelle from Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) were called in for questioning and then arrested based on their tweets they published online.

Latheefa Koya ( right ), a member of Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), told Malaysiakini the arrest was regarding Eric’s tweets on PAS and hudud.

Both human rights lawyers have been released on police bail.

“The Malaysian authorities are increasingly using the outdated Sedition Act as a politically motivated tool to muzzle critics. At least 23 people have been arrested or have been investigated for sedition in the first quarter of 2015 alone - definitely a spike from last year’s known total of 29.

“This is a dangerously slippery slope into repression of all dissent, and arrests under this law, particularly of journalists and human rights defenders, must be halted immediately,” said Galang-Folli.

Amnesty International expressed concerns about the law (Sedition Act 1948) which criminalises a wide array of acts, including those “with a tendency to excite disaffection against any ruler or government” or to “question any matter” protected by Malaysia’s constitution.