Contributed by Ambiga Sreenevasan Tuesday, 23 September 2008 06:50pm
The Malaysian Bar is deeply disappointed that the Government has seen fit to issue a 2-year detention order under S8 of the ISA against Raja Petra. The issue of the order on the eve of the hearing of his habeas corpus application is troubling, as it undermines the application.
Raja Petra is being detained for writing articles, which have long been in the public domain. Police reports have been lodged against him by various parties. If offences have been committed, he can be charged in Court for them as he has been in the past.
Raja Petra’s continued detention is therefore puzzling. The ISA is being used against an individual where other avenues that afford him a chance to defend himself, exist. It confirms the impression that the ISA is being used for purposes other than national security. It is being used to stifle dissent.
We, citizens and friends of Malaysia from the international community, call upon Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, to act immediately to set free Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Teresa Kok who are presently being held in detention without the right of due process under the Internal Security Act (ISA). We also call for the release of the HINDRAF Five and others presently imprisoned under the ISA.
The two latest detainees - together with Tan Hoon Cheng, a newspaper reporter who was subsequently released following widespread local outrage and protests - were arrested on September 12th under the draconian ISA which permits the police to detain a person for a maximum of 60 days for investigations. Based on the outcome of the investigations, a person can be detained for two years without trial. The two-year term can be renewed indefinitely. The use of such legislation – a legacy of British colonial rule - violates the basic rights of detainees to due process and fair rule of law.
We are of the opinion that there is no basis whatsoever to justify the detention of these individuals, despite the manner in which some in the government-controlled mainstream media may have painted them as threats instead of objectively reporting the facts. Raja Petra Kamaruddin is alleged to be a threat to security, peace and public order as a result of posting in his widely followed blogsite – www.Malaysia-Today – various articles deemed as seditious and belittling Islam. In his defence, it should be noted that various Islamic political parties and organizations (including the Board of Directors, Muslim Professionals Forum in their Press Release on 13 September) as well as numerous Muslim leaders have publicly refuted the Government's view that the writings of Raja Petra are in any way a threat to the nation or to Islam; and they have called for his release. Further proof that this allegation is unfounded can also be found in the decision of the Malaysian Cabinet on 12 September ordering the authorities responsible for Internet policing in the country to unblock public access to Raja Petra's website. The website currently is still unblocked and the so-called seditious and anti-national contents are publicly accessible, although Raja Petra is in detention. Targeting an internet blogger who holds views that differ from the Government is unacceptable in any system of democracy.
Teresa Kok's arrest under the ISA has been justified by the authorities as stemming from her involvement in activities which can cause tension and conflict among races and religions. This allegation appears to be based on a claim by the former Selangor Menteri Besar, Dr. Khir Toyo, that she organized a petition presented to mosque officials to lower the volume of the azan (call to prayer). Teresa Kok has categorically denied organizing any such petition. Abdul Rahman Nasir, head of the Masjid Kinrara committee (the mosque in question) and Dr Siti Mariah, Member of Parliament for Kota Raja where the mosque is situated, have also denied that Teresa Kok was involved in any such happening. The unjustified arrest of a respected member of parliament and state assemblywoman is unacceptable.
We are encouraged that various leaders of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition parties have recently spoken out against the use of the ISA. We wish to express our deep respect for the de facto Law Minister, Zaid Ibrahim, who has resigned in protest against the Government's use of the ISA on the three individuals. We agree with his view that "there [are] ample punitive laws to act against lawbreakers without having to invoke the ISA. [The law] should only be used on armed terrorists or those out to topple the government by force,"
We urge the Prime Minister to take note that the continued detention of Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Teresa Kok will only strengthen the view of Malaysians and many friends of Malaysia around the world that the Government is rapidly losing control over the political situation and, as a result, is embarking on desperate authoritarian measures. These measures can only further undermine political stability and confidence in the legitimacy of BN rule. They will also undoubtedly contribute to the increasing capital flight and worsen the growing socio-economic turmoil.
The arrests of Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin and their detention under the ISA are not serving Malaysia's national interests. Both detainees – as well as the HINDRAF Five and other political detainees - should be released immediately and unconditionally.
Written by Writer Alliance for Media Independence ?WAMI?
Joint Press Statement on 9th September 2008
No Sedition Act – Rationality Needs to Prevail in Ahmad Ismail Case
We, the undersigned civil society groups, oppose the use of the Sedition Act on Ahmad Ismail, Chief of UMNO Bukit Bendera for his alleged racist remarks. The use of the Sedition Act legitimizes the draconian act which has long been condemned by civil society and opposition parties. Rather than use it to further curb the freedom of expression – whoever the accused - the UMNO politician and his colleagues who backed him with more racist statements should be made to pay his price politically.
We condemn Ahmad Ismail and Penang UMNO for their efforts to shift the blame for the episode and its aftermath onto the journalist who reported the alleged inflammatory statements. In the process they have aroused ethnic sentiments in the press conferences held on Sept 6 and 8. Most shockingly, Penang Opposition Leader Datuk Azhar Ibrahim was quoted to have said of the journalist, "What was written may lead to a racial riot. If such a thing happens, he is the first person that should be shot." This is a thinly-veiled threat of violence. If the reporting had been wrong, why should Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who was present when Ahmad Ismail gave his speech apologize for a fabricated report? And if there is any doubt of the contents of his original speech, the explicitly racist nature of the subsequent remarks by Ahmad Ismail and his other colleagues in the two press conferences has confirmed their nasty intention.
We should however realize that exclusivist and hate speech - whether targeted on the basis of ethnicity, religion, gender, lifestyle or other grounds - is inevitable in any society and cannot be eliminated through laws. Unless we are in an emergency situation and confronted by individuals or groups inciting violence on racial grounds, there is no justification for legally policing and penalizing speech and expression. The only remedy to hate speech is the use of reason and to uphold the freedom of expression. When the society is mature, bigots like Ahmad Ismail – and their party if it refuses to penalize them - will be automatically punished by voters.
We urge Malaysians to be rational and to confront ethnocentric politicians by engaging them with rigorous and open debate. Resorting to legal means to censor speeches is unwittingly playing into the hands of those in the Government who seek to manipulate the "sensitive issue" paradigm to curb public discourse and political participation. It will also show that we as a society are intellectually incapable of refuting flawed rhetoric whatever the source.
Our stand on the case of Ahmad Ismail is consistent with that we have taken towards recent similar cases impacting on our freedom of speech and expression, notably the cases relating to forum disruption, book banning and website blocking. We reiterate the need to form a Parliamentary Select Committee to reform all freedom of speech and information and media-related laws including the Sedition Act. This is the only way we may mature as a society and fend off bigotry. We urge all Malaysians who oppose ethnic politics to endorse the 2008 Memorandum for Media Freedom at www.benar.org.
Through our measured and rational response, Malaysians can expose the political opportunism and the use of distorted history and other lies by the alleged inflammatory speaker and many others. Ahmad Ismail and others of the same ilk do not define our nationhood. His statement in no way affects the constitutional and socio-political reality that Chinese Malaysians – and other majority and minority communities - are equal citizens with similar rights as other citizens in this country.
If anything, Ahmad Ismail has stirred a lively debate that has brought out to public attention the deep and irrational well of UMNO's communalism. The apology by UMNO Deputy president and the affirmation of the equal rights of minority communities by UMNO President are the steps in the right direction. However, now that Ahmad Ismail and UMNO Penang have openly snubbed their top leaders, UMNO must take stern disciplinary action to demonstrate its ability to censure its extremist and racially bigoted elements and regain the trust and confidence of, not only the non-Malays and non-Muslims, but of all Malaysians.
Endorsing Groups:
1. Writer Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)
2. Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran)
3. Bus Users' Group, Penang
4. Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
5. Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI)
6. Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI@Parliament)
7. Civil Rights Committee of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (CRC-KLSCAH)
10. Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement (DEMA)
11. Penang Watch
12. Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)
13. Save Ourselves (SOS), Penang
14. Sister in Islam (SIS)
15. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
16. Women's Aid Organization (WAO)
This joint statement is initiated by Writer Alliance Media Independence (WAMI).
Issued by Mr Wong Chin Huat, Chairperson, Writer Alliance Media Independence (WAMI)
For futher info, please contact:
Mr Chan Kim Ming 03-22746645
Mr Wong Chin Huat (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
________________________________
WAMI is a group of writers for the Chinese media in Malaysia, which aims to defend and promote media independence for freer public discussion and wider democratic space. It was formed by about 90 writers who quitted writing for the mainstream Chinese media in May 2001, in protest of the coerced takeover of the non-partisan Nanyang Press by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a ruling coalition member party.
Kenyataan Bersama National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs) dan Center for Policy Initiatives
Amaran SOS kepada Semua Rakyat Malaysia berkenaan kes Raja Petra
Dalam beberapa hari kebelakangan ini terdapat terlalu banyak berita yang tidak menyenangkan — baik yang bertulis atau lisan– seolah-olah menunjukkan bahawa Raja Petra Kamaruddin pasti akan ditahan di bawah Akta keselamatan dalam Negeri (ISA).
Kami berharap Kerajaan tidak akan memikirkan tindakan seperti ini. Bagi mengurangkan merebaknya dengan segera kemarahan dan kebimbangan rakyat — dalam dan luar negara akibat tindakan yang pendek akal ini, kami menyeru pihak berkuasa yang merancang tindakan ini supaya mendengar amaran ini, iaitu dengan segera menghentikan semua tindakan kepada Raja Petra sama ada melalui ISA atau langkah-langkah penekanan yang lain; tetapi sebaliknya memberi jaminan bahawa:
1. Tiada hasrat untuk menahan Raja Petra melalui ISA;
2. Raja Petra hendaklah diberi kebebasan untuk terus menulis berkaitan perkara-perkara penting yang dihadapi oleh negara;
3. Undang-undang zalim ISA tidak digunakan ke atas Raja Petra atau mana-mana penulis blog Malaysia yang lain sebagai hukuman kerana menyatakan pandangan serta pendapat yang bertentangan dan berbeza.
Pada hemat kami dan sekiranya Kerajaan sanggup menjalankan kajian secara bebas, mengambil kira pendapat majoriti besar rakyat Malaysia dan warga asing, Raja Petra tidak langsung dianggap sebagai mengancam keselamatan dan keamanan negara. Sebaliknya, dia sebenarnya menjadi ancaman kepada individu-individu dan organisasi tertentu yang dilihatnya terlibat dalam tindakan-tindakan tanpa peduli dan bersifat pengecut yang akan meruntuhkan negara.
Ramai rakyat Malaysia juga berpendapat bahawa laman web beliau mengandungi banyak analisis paling tajam berkaitan pelbagai kepincangan yang berlaku di negara kita. Percubaan setrusnya untuk menutup laman webnya atau menyekat kebebasan bercakap beliau bukan sahaja satu serangan kepada seorang patriot yang berani, berprinsip dan beretika tetapi tindakan Kerajaan juga akan dilihat sebagai percubaan untuk menyekat kebebasan kami mendapat maklumat dan bersuara. Tindakan ini juga akan membawa negara ke jurang pemerintahan kuku besi.
Sementara kita menghormati hak bersuara dan mendpat maklumat, kami juga menasihati semua penulis blog dan penulis online lain untuk menggunakan standard dan etika yang sama juga diharapkan daripada kalangan wartawan media tradisional. Kami tidak boleh membiarkan penipuan dan niat jahat dalam internet dan tidak hanya berpegang teguh kepada tulisan kami; kami juga mampu mempertahankan kebenaran menganai apa yang kami tulis.
Kami ingin menekankan bahawa pada pandangan kami undang-undang pada masa ini yang berkaitan dengan Hasutan dan Fitnah adalah sama-sama terpakai kepada media cetak dan media online dan seharusnya sudah memadai untuk mencegah penulisan-penulisan yang “tidak bertanggungjawab???. Justeru kami menggesa supaya Kerajaan tidak mengambil tindakan menggunakan undang undang ISA yang zalim ini untuk menjadikan penulis-penulis yang cintakan kedamaian di Malaysia ini sebagai tebusan.
Sebuah Kerajaan yang demokratik tidak akan sekali-kali melayani — apatah lagi meneruskan tuduhan-tuduhan yang telah dibuat terhadap Raja Petra. Untuk mengasingkan segala bentuk kekuatan dalam sistem undang-undang yang seringkali cenderung untuk menggunakan jentera Kerajaan yang menindas terhadap pelbagai pihak yang menentang demi kepentingan mereka sendiri, kami dengan ini menggesa:
1. Semua pemimpin dari Barisan Nasional mahupun dari Pakatan Rakyat yang berfikiran adil dan jujur supaya menyuarakan sama ada di khalayak ramai atau secara peribadi menentang sebarang percubaan menggunakan ISA terhadap Raja Petra;
2. Parti-parti komponen Barisan Nasional dan Pakatan Rakyat secara terbuka hendaklah menentang sebarang usaha untuk untuk menahan Raja Petra di bawah ISA;
3. Masyarakat sivil, golongan professional dan organisasi lain dan individu digesa mendesak Kerajaan memberi jaminan kebebasan bersuara kepada Raja Petra dan beraku-janji tidak menggunakan ISA terhadap beliau sama ada sekarang atau pada masa akan datang.
Kami berharap kewarasan tindakan akan terserlah dalam kepimpinan di negara kita. Sebarang tindakan yang menindas Raja Petra, terutama pada ketika ini, akan dipersoalkan atau perlu dijawab. Kami yakin ratusan ribu malah mungkin jutaan rakyat Malaysia akan berdiri teguh menyatakan tentangan mereka sekiranya Kerajaan memilih untuk menutup mulut Raja Petra melalui penggunaan ISA.
Kenyataan dikeluarkan oleh:
Ahiruddin Atan, Presiden Sementara, National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs)
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee, Pengasas dan Pengarah Eksekutif, Center for Policy Initiatives
Joint Press Statement by National Alliance of Bloggers and Centre for Policy Initiatives
SOS on Raja Petra Kamarudin to Fellow Malaysians
During the last few days there has been an ominous and increasing crescendo of messages – written and verbal – indicating the imminent arrest and detention of fellow blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
We hope that the Government is not contemplating this action. To alleviate the widespread public uproar and concern – national and international – that this shortsighted action will precipitate, we call on the authorities that may be planning this action to take heed of this SOS; to immediately cease all targeting of Raja Petra through the ISA or any other repressive measure; and to come out instead with an assurance that
1. no such ISA order is being envisaged to be served on Raja Petra 2. Raja Petra is free to continue his writings on the vital matters affecting the country 3. the draconian legislation of the ISA will not be used on Raja Petra or any other Malaysian blogger to punish them for their dissenting views and opinions.
In our view - and if the Government should care to undertake an independent survey, in the view of the great majority of Malaysians and non-Malaysians - Raja Petra in no way poses a threat to the country’s peace and security. Rather, he poses a threat to those individuals and organizations that he perceives as engaging in unconscionable and dastardly acts and activities that are bringing ruin to the nation. Many Malaysians too are of the opinion that his website contains some of the most incisive analysis on the ills that beset our nation. Further attempts to take down his website or to shackle his freedom of expression is not only an attack on a fearless, principled and ethical patriot but they will also be construed as an attempt to restrict our freedom of information and expression, a move that will take the country further down the road of authoritarianism.
While we respect the right to freedom of speech and information, we also advise all Bloggers and other online writers to exercise the same high ethical standards expected of journalists in the traditional media. We do not condone lies and malice in the Internet and should not only stand by what we write - we must be able to defend the truth of what we write.
We emphasise that in our view the current laws pertaining to Sedition and Defamation apply equally to print and online media and should be deterrent enough to check "irresponsible" writings. Hence we urge that there be no resort to a draconian law such as the Internal Security Act to hold peace-loving Malaysian writers to ransom."
A democratic government should not for one moment entertain - let alone pursue - the charges that have been leveled against Raja Petra. To isolate those forces in the system that are bent on using the repressive instruments of the state against various opponents for their own benefit, we call on
1. all fair-minded and honest leaders from the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat parties to speak out - privately and publicly - against any attempt to use the ISA against Raja Petra; 2. component parties of the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to publicly oppose any intended incarceration of Raja Petra under the ISA; 3. civil society, professional and other organizations and private individuals to demand that the Government guarantees Raja Petra’s freedom of expression and undertakes not to use the ISA against him now or in the future.
We hope that good sense will prevail in our country’s leadership. Any act of repression against Raja Petra especially at this particular time will not go unquestioned or unanswered. We are confident that hundreds of thousands - if not millions of Malaysians – will stand firmly to make their dissenting views known should the Government choose to silence Raja Petra through the use of the ISA.
Statement released by
Ahirudin Attan Interim President, National Alliance of Bloggers (AllBlogs
Dr Lim Teck Ghee, Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives
Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI), Kuala Lumpur.
Saudara/Saudari and Friends:
OPEN INVITATION TO THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF CPI WEBSITE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2008
You are cordially invited to attend the Official Launch of our Website -- cpiasia.net and chinese.cpiasia.net -- to be held on Monday, September 8, 2008 from 2.30pm-4.30pm. Two Guest speakers -- Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon and Dr Syed Husin Ali -- will also honour the occasion with short speeches on Freedom of Information and the Internet.
Venue:
Auditorium, Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH),
1, Jalan Maharajalela Kuala Lumpur.
The programme is as follows:
2.30pm: Welcome address by Dr Lim Teck Ghee, Director, CPI
2.45pm: Presentation of CPI Website (English) by YL Chong, Editor, CPI
3.00pm: Presentation of CPI Website (Chinese) by KF Yap, Editor, CPI
3.15pm: ***Address by Dr Syed Husin Ali on: "Freedom of Information and the Role of the Internet"
3.35pm: ****Address by Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon on: "Freedom of Information and the Internet (Chinese)
4.00pm: Q and A session follows with the Press
_________________ HI:)-TEA __________
Please feel free to bring your friends along. For further enquiry, please contact Ms Helen Ang at 013-2240985.
