DAP Youth pans students' arrest, says cops acting against govt's stand

Summary

• DAP Youth slams police for arresting three students who participated in an anti-graft rally in Sabah over the weekend.

• DAP Youth secretary Louis Lim and its public policy bureau chief Jason Ng remind the police of the prime minister’s call to prioritise the students’ future and education.

DAP Youth has slammed the police for arresting three students who participated in the “Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0” rally over the weekend.

“The police's move to arrest the students who protested peacefully seems to be at odds with the wishes of the government’s top leaders.

“If students can be treated that way, is there any more democratic space left in the country?” asked DAP Youth secretary Louis Lim and its public policy bureau chief Jason Ng in a statement today.

Earlier, the police confirmed the arrests and said they were being investigated under the Sedition Act.

Two of them, Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0 coordinators Fadhil Kasim and Aliff Danial Badrul Akmal Hisham, had torched a caricature of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the end of the 22-hour protest.

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

Yesterday, Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said that Anwar does not want Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to expel the students involved in the stunt.

“For the prime minister, they (the students) might have made a mistake, but their future and education are far more important and should be prioritised,” he added.

Dent on nation’s image

Condemning the arrests, the DAP leaders opposed the use of the Sedition Act to arrest the students just for expressing themselves in a peaceful demonstration.

They stressed that the law is archaic and the arrests had dented Malaysia’s image as a nation which upholds human rights.

“The prime minister himself, through Zambry, has mentioned that the students’ future and education must be prioritised.

“It shows the government’s commitment to freedom of expression and democracy.

“Though the students’ action may have been drastic, it did not create public disorder,” they added.

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