‘Balloon girl’ freed of insulting behaviour charge

‘Balloon girl’ freed of insulting behaviour charge KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Dance producer Bilqis Hijjas walked out beaming today after the Magistrates’ Court acquitted her of “insulting behaviour” for dropping yellow balloons at a 2015 event attended by the prime minister and his wife. “I am very pleased. It has taken two years to…

The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia – Human Rights Watch 2016 Report

Deepening the Culture of Fear The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia Malaysia’s use of criminal laws to arrest, question, and prosecute individuals for peaceful speech and assembly has deepened in the year since Human Rights Watch published Creating a Culture of Fear: The Criminalization of Expression in Malaysia in October 2015.[1] The Malaysian authorities…

Stop harassing Fahmi Reza and others — HAKAM

Stop harassing Fahmi Reza and others — HAKAM JUNE 7 — The National Human Rights Society (HAKAM) condemns the 4 June arrests of activist and graphic artist Fahmi Reza and three others, Lew Pik-Svonn, Pang Khee Teik and Arif Rafhan Othman and their being investigated for alleged offences under the Sedition Act 1948. HAKAM views…

Ridiculing the government is part of democracy

Ridiculing the government is part of democracy … So it is extremely disturbing to read that the Immigration Department reportedly enforced a ruling a few months ago to prohibit Malaysians who ridicule the government from travelling overseas for three years. This came after Bersih 2.0 chair Maria Chin Abdullah, who has been fighting for free…

There’s no general discretionary power to restrict Malaysian’s right to travel

Thiru: Only two exceptions allow travel ban There’s no general discretionary power to restrict a citizen’s right to travel in and out of Malaysia. KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar has urged Putrajaya to immediately rescind the overseas travel ban that the authorities have imposed on Maria Chin Abdullah and others, and to cease and desist…

STOP Internet censorship

Government should embrace the Internet, not impose more restrictions to stifle news portals and blogs – Lawyers for Liberty MARCH 23 – Lawyers for Liberty views with extreme concern the Communications and Multimedia Ministry’s proposal for online news portals and political blogs to be registered with the government, thus effectively restricting further the ever-shrinking democratic…

Sliding towards an authoritarian state

Sliding towards an authoritarian state A government that uses state agencies to silent its critics. A government that demands loyalty from mainstream media. A government that abuses state resources for its political advantage and distributes propaganda books in the universities. A government that bans a newspaper and threatens its critics with sedition. Is this Malaysia,…

Law doesn’t let MCMC block websites

Law doesn’t let MCMC block websites, says global rights group Malaysia’s Internet regulator does not have the power to block a website without due process of law, Amnesty International said today over the latest case of Putrajaya’s suppression of online media. Amnesty’s Southeast Asia and Pacific campaigns deputy director Josef Roy Benedict said the law…

Rakyat’s right to denounce a gov’t full of clowns

Rakyat’s right to denounce a gov’t full of clowns If the rakyat feels that they must paint their leadership as clowns, then it befits their right to do so as a means of expressing legitimate democratic dissent. Any curb on this is not only against democratic principles but may trigger less palatable means of defiance.…

The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia – HRW report

The 143-page report, “Creating a Culture of Fear: The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Malaysia,” documents the government’s use and abuse of a range of broad and vaguely worded laws to criminalize peaceful expression, including debates on matters of public interest. The report also spotlights a disturbing trend of abuse of the legal process, including…