Sedition law used to create fear, silence thought, say lawyers

Lawyers today painted a picture of a government out to instil fear and prevent public thinkers from influencing others with their views in the latest sedition charge against a law professor.

They said the penal action against Universiti Malaya law professor Dr Azmi Sharom is a warning to individuals to toe the government’s line or face prosecution.

They further said the Sedition Act used against him has outlived its purpose and went against democratic values in a modern society.

Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen said Azmi's case was a clear persecution of opposition leaders, dissidents and anyone who thought different from the official narrative.

"They want you to think one way, in sync with the establishment," Paulsen told The Malaysian Insider.

He also felt that Azmi’s prosecution was a pre-emptive strike to stop more people from commenting on the ongoing constitutional crisis in Selangor over the menteri besar impasse.

"Individuals will now think twice over making public remarks about the on-going crisis for fear of running foul of the law," he said.

Paulsen said this in response to Putrajaya’s charge against Azmi, 45, who is the first academic to be hauled up over the current impasse.

He is facing a principle charge of uttering a seditious statement and an alternative charge of publishing the statement. Both are offences under the Sedition Act and carry a jail term of up to three years or a maximum fine of RM5,000, or both if found guilty.

Among the allegedly seditious remarks Azmi made, which were published in a news portal on August 14, were: "You don't want a repeat of that, where a secret meeting took place."‎

Another was: "I think what happened in Perak was legally wrong. The best thing to do is do it as legally and transparently ‎as possible".

Azmi had commented on the Selangor menteri besar impasse‎ and warned Pakatan Rakyat against acting outside the state assembly like what had happened in Perak.

Criminal lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said a cursory glance of Azmi's statement did not indicate seditious intent and the academic had merely expressed his views based on facts and law.

"One may disagree with Azmi's view, but to use the law against him for the opinion he held is wrong. More so, when he was raising legal issues by making reference to a factual event," he said.

Amer said recently the European Court of Human Rights (in the case of Mustafa Erdogan -v- Turkey) held that courts, as with all other public institutions, were not immune from scrutiny even if the language and expressions used were harsh and could be perceived as offensive.

"If one is not happy with the view, please debate and deal with them in an intellectual manner. Don't instil fear among the public and stifle freedom of expression and intellectual discourse," Amer added.

Lawyer Jeyaseelan Anthony said Britain, which gave birth to the law in the 12th century, had abolished its Sedition Act and criminal defamation law.

"The British introduced the law in India to suppress freedom fighters like Mahathma Gandhi. Even though such a law still exists there, it provides a defence for the accused person.

“In India, one can only be charged if any utterance or publication resulted in public disorder like violence. But our law is aimed at silencing critics. A person’s innocence vey much depends on the attitude of judges," said Anthony who authored a book titled 'Seditious Tendency?'.

He said in a democratic society, it was the government that feared the people, but in Malaysia the law was used to intimidate the public.

Over the past week, a number of opposition politicians – Padang Serai MP N. Surendran (PKR), Shah Alam MP and PAS central committee member Khalid Samad and Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer (DAP) – have all been charged with sedition.

PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli was also charged with threatening the peace for his comments against Umno members, while former Perak menteri besar and Changkat Jering assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was charged with criminal defamation for a statement he had allegedly made two years ago.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok (DAP) and Batu MP Tian Chua (PKR) are also facing trial for sedition.

All these elected representatives risk losing their public office if the court imposes a fine of RM2,000 or more, or at least one year’s jail term. – September 2, 2014.