NGO Suaram has condemned the recent string of investigations against advocates and supporters of the Citizens' Declaration.

It viewed it as persecution of a legitimate democratic endeavour, and demanded the government stop such strong-arm tactics against its critics.

"Suaram calls for the investigations against these individuals under the Sedition Act 1948 to be dropped immediately," said its executive director Sevan Doraisamy in a statement yesterday, noting the anti-democratic implications of such restrictive actions.

The human rights advocacy group argued that expressing legitimate democratic dissent and voicing criticism is far from seditious and is instead part and parcel of a vibrant and functioning democracy.

"Contrary to narratives by certain quarters, the call for the resignation of a public official following any scandal or dereliction of duty is a democratic right and not a threat against parliamentary democracy and cannot be described as a seditious," said the group.

Thus the NGO contended that all police reports made against individuals connected to the Citizens' Declaration and police investigations against them can only be described as "frivolous and a waste of public resource".

"If the authorities wish to proceed with the investigation of Azrul Mohd Khalid, Joe Haidy and others for their support and advocacy of the Citizens' Declaration, it would be inevitable that members of the public will perceive such investigations as an attempt to intimidate the advocates of Citizens' Declaration and would-be supporters," said Suaram.

The Citizens' Declaration was launched last month by an unlikely bipartisan alliance of former and current BN members as well as those from the opposition and civil society and social activism movements.

At the forefront of the movement is the unlikely activist former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has quit Umno over Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak refusal to step down.

The declaration calls for Najib to be removed by legal means, for all his alleged scandals and excesses.

Police have begun to crack down on those who initiated and supported the declaration and an online petition that supports the initiative.