Targetting Anwar on sedition for his 2011 speech worst form of political vendetta and gross abuse of power – would Zahid ensure police would investigate Mahathir “within 24 hours” when sedition report lodged against former PM?
Targetting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim under the Sedition Act for his ceramah speech in March 2011 is the worst form of political vendetta and gross abuse of power in the latest regime of “white terror” to create a climate of fear to stifle criticism and dissent in the country.
Amnesty International’s deputy Asia-Pacific director Rupert Abbot hit the nail on the head when he described as “blatant persecution” Putrajaya’s move to probe Anwar for sedition for what he said in a ceramah more than three years ago.
If what Anwar said in March 2011 did not warrant any police investigation under the Sedition Act for more than three years, what is the merit and justification now to probe Anwar for sedition for what he said more than three years ago apart from being a disgraceful case of persecution, political vendetta and gross abuse of power?
It may be argued that there is no statutory limitation for sedition but this should apply indiscriminately to everyone, whether in government or otherwise.
There is also also no statutory limitation for corruption offences, but no one in the pinnacles of power in Malaysia seems to need to worry about this!
Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had sworn that police would commence investigations “within 24 hours” of a sedition complaint.
Yesterday I asked whether his oath that the police will commence investigations “within 24 hours” of a sedition complaint applies to UMNO Ministers and leaders, and most importantly, to himself.
At 2.30 p.m. yesterday, the Perak DAP state secretary and Assemblyman for Canning, Wong Kah Woh, lodged a police report against Zahid for making a seditious speech during the Pengkalan Kubor by-election campaign on Monday, trying to incite racial animosities, conflict, tensions and hatred with a distorted and untruthful account about the events in the Perak constitutional crisis in 2009.
This morning, at 9.20 am, a team from the Ipoh Police took a statement from Wong on his sedition report against Zahid.
Does this qualify to fulfil Zahid’s oath of police commencing investigations “within 24 hours” of any police report on sedition?
I will not be surprised if Zahid had phoned and directed the Ipoh Police to take a statement from Wong “within 24 hours” so that he could claim that he had kept to his oath – but this is just sheer humbuggery, for what Malaysians want are meaningful and not formal “commencement” of police investigations, which means at minimum, the police taking a statement from the person who is the subject of the police report or in the case of Wong’s sedition report, Zahid himself.
If Zahid is serious about police investigations “within 24 hours” of any sedition police report, then let the Home Minister let the Malaysian public know when the police had visited him and taken a statement from him on his seditious speech in Pengkalan Kubor – or his oath of police commencement of investigations “within 24 hours” is just bunkum.
Today, I want to ask Zahid if his “within 24 hours” oath for police to commence investigations for any sedition police report would apply to former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
If Anwar could be investigated for sedition for what he said in a ceramah in March 2011, is Mahathir immune from police investigations for sedition in connection with what he said only in April last year, when he made seditious and scurrilous allegations and lies that I was contesting in the Gelang Patah constituency in the May 2013 General Elections because I want:
- the Chinese in Gelang Patah and Johor to “reject working together and sharing with the Malays”;
- the Chinese in Johor “to dislike and hate the Malays” to create “conflict and antagonism between the races”;
- to create “an unhealthy racial confrontation” between the Malays and Chinese in Johor, which will be “disruptive and will not be conducive to the development of Malaysia”.
All these three allegations by Mahathir were not only downright lies and falsehoods, but highly incendiary, inflammatory and seditious!
I am not suggesting that Mahathir should be jailed for these sedition offences, but Zahid owes the Malaysian public a satisfactory explanation why Mahathir should be immune from police investigations “within 24 hours” a police report is lodged when Anwar could be hounded and persecuted for what he said more than three years ago, and over something which was clearly not seditious!