Activists gather outside Kajang Prison, demand release of Wan Ji
As preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin began his jail sentence at the Kajang Prison yesterday, a group of activists gathered in a peaceful assembly outside the prison last night, calling for his immediate release and the abolition of the Sedition Act.
Some 30 people gathered in front of the prison at 8.40pm yesterday. Holding white candles, they chanted loudly, "Bebas, bebas; bebas Wan Ji" (Free Wan Ji) and "Mansuh, mansuh; mansuh Akta Hasutan" (abolish the Sedition Act)...
As preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin began his jail sentence at the Kajang Prison yesterday, a group of activists gathered in a peaceful assembly outside the prison last night, calling for his immediate release and the abolition of the Sedition Act.
Some 30 people gathered in front of the prison at 8.40pm yesterday. Holding white candles, they chanted loudly, "Bebas, bebas; bebas Wan Ji" (Free Wan Ji) and "Mansuh, mansuh; mansuh Akta Hasutan" (abolish the Sedition Act).
"We are sad and disappointed tonight. Freedom of speech is so important and it should be upheld by the people and our society," said an old friend and colleague of Wan Ji, Lim Hong Siang, who is also the executive director of Saudara.org.
Wan Ji was formerly an aide to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. Now, he is the academic director of Saudara.org, a research centre focusing on socio-cultural and religious issues in Malaysia.
"We all know that Wan Ji is someone who always has some strange ideas. Sometimes it might be progressive, sometimes it is too much in the vanguard for our current society," Lim said.
It is quite normal, he said, to have dissent and different ideas in society so that we could all move forward and create social development with new ideas.
"I hope that one day in the future, no one will be punished, sentenced or jailed just because he or she has some ideas that made somebody feel uneasy," Lim added.
In 2014, Wan Ji pleaded guilty under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for a 2012 Facebook post on Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Following his sentence in 2018, he was granted a stay pending the outcome of his appeal against the sentence.
Yesterday, his sentence was enhanced from nine months' jail to one year, after the High Court in Shah Alam allowed the appeal filed by the prosecution.
Several student activists, social activists from Suaram and Bersih, and some leaders from PSM were also at the scene last night.
Bersih chairperson Thomas Fann (below) urged Pakatan Harapan to fulfil its promise to abolish draconian laws, including the Sedition Act, immediately.
"The Sedition Act is a draconian colonial law that is used to curb freedom of speech and it often becomes a tool for the government to silence the people's voices.
"Harapan is seen as not making any effort to abolish this Sedition Act and uphold the freedom of expression as stipulated in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution," Fann said.
After singing a song on freedom, the small crowd dispersed peacefully at 10pm.
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