Sabah anti-graft rally: Police arrest 3 student activists for sedition

Summary

• Police arrested three Sabah student activists who participated in an anti-graft rally in Kota Kinabalu over the weekend.

• The duo, Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 coordinators Fadhil Kasim and Aliff Danial Badrul Akmal Hisham, are being investigated under the Sedition Act for torching a caricature of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

• The third student, Sabir Syarafuddin, got arrested despite not participating in the burning.

Police have arrested two Sabah student activists who torched a banner with a caricature of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at an anti-graft rally in Kota Kinabalu over the weekend.

Kota Kinabalu district police chief Kasim Muda confirmed the arrests of Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 coordinators Fadhil Kasim and Aliff Danial Badrul Akmal Hisham.

A third student who did not participate in the burning, Sabir Syarafuddin, was also arrested.

According to Kasim, police are investigating the students under the Sedition Act, among others.

“All (three) have been arrested to facilitate investigations related to the rally,” he said.

He was asked to comment on a Facebook post by activist Mukmin Nantang, who earlier today claimed that Fadhil, Aliff, and Sabir were being arrested by police.

The rally, aimed at pressuring Anwar to act against corrupt politicians, began about 1pm on Saturday and saw the participation of over 100 protesters.

The rallygoers also urged legal action against the Sabah Water Department and called for full autonomy for the MACC.

It came to a fiery end at about 11am on Sunday with the burning of a large banner bearing a caricature of Anwar with the phrase “Madani Pelindung Rasuah Sabah” (Madani Protector of Sabah Corruption).

Fadhil, who was the group’s spokesperson, said the banner symbolised a scathing critique of Anwar’s administration, which the group claimed had failed to uphold promises of institutional reforms.

“We delivered speeches, chanted student slogans, and highlighted the hypocrisy of Anwar in handling the corruption scandal in Sabah,” he said.

The burning incident received mixed reactions, where several pro-government groups and individuals criticised it as being overboard and “stupid”, among others.

However, Fadhil defended the act and compared it to a fiery demonstration led by Anwar in the 1970s, who was then a student leader.

Earlier today, Bernama quoted Sabah police chief Jauteh Dikun saying they are investigating rally participants for nine offences.

The alleged offences include incitement, open burning in a public area, possession of dangerous or corrosive substances during the rally, and raising sensitive issues on royalty, religion, and race (3R).

According to Jauteh, investigations were opened under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, Sedition Act 1948, and the Penal Code.

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