Agence France-Presse - 9/13/2008 6:34 AM GMT
Malaysian activists and political groups Saturday denounced the arrests of an opposition politician, a prominent blogger and a journalist under a tough security law, while Washington also weighed in.
The arrests come at a time when the opposition in Malaysia is trying to seize power from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has come under mounting pressure to quit the ailing administration.
The three were arrested Friday and are being held under the Internal Security Act (ISA), Ismail Omar, deputy inspector-general of police, was cited as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
The ISA, which human rights groups have pushed to have abolished, allows for renewable two-year periods of detention without trial and is normally used against suspected terrorists.
Following the arrests, the United States summoned Malaysia's top envoy in Washington for a second time in a month to protest at the apparent crackdown on dissent.
"Peaceful expression of political opinions is a fundamental right and critical to a democracy," a US State Department official told AFP.
Reacting to mounting criticism, even from within the ruling National Front coalition, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said 32-year-old journalist Tan Hoon Cheng would be freed later Saturday.
"After police take her statement... she will be freed later today," the minister, who ordered the arrests, was quoted as saying over national television.
The journalist's arrest also drew rare condemnation from the Malaysian Chinese Association, the second largest political party in the National Front.
"MCA is dismayed, disappointed and shocked with the ISA detention of Tan Hoon Cheng," Ng Yen Yen, head of the MCA's women's wing, said in a
statement, calling for the ISA to be scrapped.
GMI, a rights group campaigning for the end of the ISA, said in a statement pressing for the immediate release of the three detainees its use in this instance was "totally unjustified and indefensible."
Malaysia's leading blogger, 58-year-old Raja Petra Kamaruddin, who has targeted government figures on his website "Malaysia Today", has been charged with sedition and defamation after linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife to the sensational murder of a Mongolian woman.
The home minister justified the arrest Friday saying the offending articles had insulted Islam and the Prophet Mohammed -- a criminal offence in predominantly Muslim Malaysia.
Hours later, police arrested Tan, a reporter for the Chinese-language Sin Chew Daily News in northern Penang state. She had reported on an outburst from a ruling party member who called ethnic Chinese "squatters".
Opposition lawmaker Teresa Kok, 43, from the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party, a member of the opposition alliance, was the third to be arrested under the ISA.
Kok has been defending herself against allegations that she complained about the noise of morning prayers at a mosque in her electorate. She has said the accusation is "preposterous".
Malaysia's resurgent opposition is led by the flamboyant Anwar Ibrahim, who is plotting to topple the government as soon as next week. He Friday condemned the three detentions under the ISA as "draconian and unjustified."
Anwar himself is facing trial on sodomy charges, allegations he says are politically motivated.
Three Malaysian newspapers -- Tan's Sin Chew Daily News, The Sun, a free English-language daily, and Suara Keadilan, which is published by the opposition -- were also Friday threatened with suspension.
Ambiga Sreenevasan, of Bar Council Malaysia, said she was alarmed that the three newspapers have been censured over their news coverage.
"This, together with the arrest of Raja Petra under the ISA, may be viewed as a chilling message that our fundamental freedoms are not secure," she said.
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Saturday, September 13, 2008
US summons Malaysian envoy over crackdown on dissent
Agence France-Presse - 9/13/2008 2:30 AM GMT
The United States summoned Friday Malaysia's top envoy in Washington to protest its crackdown on dissent at a time when the opposition was attempting to take over power in Kuala Lumpur.
Ilango Karuppannan, the charge d'affaires of the Malaysian embassy, was summoned to the State Department after an opposition politician, a prominent blogger and a journalist were held under a law allowing indefinite detention without trial, a diplomatic source said.
The move came amid fears in Kuala Lumpur that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government was planning a larger crackdown as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim scrambled to oust the government with parliamentary defections.
"Peaceful expression of political opinions is a fundamental right and critical to a democracy," a State Department official told AFP.
"The United States believes that the Malaysian government should provide due process and treatment consistent with Malaysian law and international standards," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"We expect that democratic countries that purport to advocate free expression of political views will not curtail such freedom," the official said following the trio's arrest.
This is the second time Ilango was summoned to the State Department in a month.
The last time he was hauled up when Anwar was charged with sodomy, an accusation the opposition leader said was concocted by the government after it was humiliated in March elections,
Malaysia's Foreign Minister Rais Yatim had slammed Washington previously for interfering in the country's "domestic" affairs.
But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would continue to speak out on cases involving human rights and politics although it did so "in a spirit of respect for Malaysia".
Those arrested under Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA) Friday were top blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, opposition MP Teresa Kok and Sin Chew Daily News journalist Tan Hoon Cheng.
Three Malaysian newspapers -- the Sin Chew Daily News, The Sun which is a free English-language daily, and Suara Keadilan which is published by the opposition -- were also Friday reportedly threatened with suspension.
"The United States firmly believes that freedom of the press and freedom of speech are fundamental to a vibrant democracy," the State Department official said.
Rights groups condemned the arrests, saying it was an abuse of power by Abdullah's government.
Amnesty International wants the United States to consider raising the case at the current UN General Assembly, where a special forum was to scrutinize human rights situation of member nations, said the group's Washington-based Asia Pacific advocacy director T. Kumar.
"It appears that the Malaysian government is engaging in a witch hunt against peaceful dissent," he said. "The government should release all ISA detainees and not use the law as a tool to maintain political power."
Human Rights Watch, an independent US group, said Malaysia risked "irreparable harm" to its "already fragile reputation" if those arrested were not freed.
"The Malaysian government apparently thinks it can only maintain power by jailing journalists and opposition politicians," said Elaine Pearson, the group's deputy Asia director. "Such tactics have no place in a modern democracy."
http://news.my.msn.com/
The United States summoned Friday Malaysia's top envoy in Washington to protest its crackdown on dissent at a time when the opposition was attempting to take over power in Kuala Lumpur.
Ilango Karuppannan, the charge d'affaires of the Malaysian embassy, was summoned to the State Department after an opposition politician, a prominent blogger and a journalist were held under a law allowing indefinite detention without trial, a diplomatic source said.
The move came amid fears in Kuala Lumpur that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government was planning a larger crackdown as opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim scrambled to oust the government with parliamentary defections.
"Peaceful expression of political opinions is a fundamental right and critical to a democracy," a State Department official told AFP.
"The United States believes that the Malaysian government should provide due process and treatment consistent with Malaysian law and international standards," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"We expect that democratic countries that purport to advocate free expression of political views will not curtail such freedom," the official said following the trio's arrest.
This is the second time Ilango was summoned to the State Department in a month.
The last time he was hauled up when Anwar was charged with sodomy, an accusation the opposition leader said was concocted by the government after it was humiliated in March elections,
Malaysia's Foreign Minister Rais Yatim had slammed Washington previously for interfering in the country's "domestic" affairs.
But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington would continue to speak out on cases involving human rights and politics although it did so "in a spirit of respect for Malaysia".
Those arrested under Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA) Friday were top blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, opposition MP Teresa Kok and Sin Chew Daily News journalist Tan Hoon Cheng.
Three Malaysian newspapers -- the Sin Chew Daily News, The Sun which is a free English-language daily, and Suara Keadilan which is published by the opposition -- were also Friday reportedly threatened with suspension.
"The United States firmly believes that freedom of the press and freedom of speech are fundamental to a vibrant democracy," the State Department official said.
Rights groups condemned the arrests, saying it was an abuse of power by Abdullah's government.
Amnesty International wants the United States to consider raising the case at the current UN General Assembly, where a special forum was to scrutinize human rights situation of member nations, said the group's Washington-based Asia Pacific advocacy director T. Kumar.
"It appears that the Malaysian government is engaging in a witch hunt against peaceful dissent," he said. "The government should release all ISA detainees and not use the law as a tool to maintain political power."
Human Rights Watch, an independent US group, said Malaysia risked "irreparable harm" to its "already fragile reputation" if those arrested were not freed.
"The Malaysian government apparently thinks it can only maintain power by jailing journalists and opposition politicians," said Elaine Pearson, the group's deputy Asia director. "Such tactics have no place in a modern democracy."
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