Pakatan Harapan had a chance to repeal the Sedition Act 1948 but they did not do so, said former Malaysian Bar president K Ragunath.
“We have been going on (pushing to repeal the Sedition Act) for the last 10 years.
“Whether Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan (Nasional), they are still the same.
“They (Harapan) had the opportunity to repeal but did not,” he said.
Ragunath added: “(Former) attorney-general did not do anything, ministers didn’t do anything.
“In fact, they were all justifying the use of sedition act and now we pay the same price again.
“Regardless change of the government, the issue remains the same, the (issue of) freedom of expression has gone back to square one,” he told the media outside the Bukit Aman police headquarters.
Earlier, Ragunath represented activist Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, who was summoned over a rally at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday night during the week of intense political turmoil.
Harapan promised in its election manifesto to abolish the Sedition Act.
In July last year, former home minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is now the prime minister, had said that the government was “reviewing” the law, but had not decided what to do with it.
However, the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad later reiterated that Putrajaya would abolish the Sedition Act and replace it with a new law.
During the reign of Harapan government, the law had been used to investigate the organisers of the Women’s March and preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin.
Meanwhile, lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said today Malaysians must “not be intimidated”, after the police opened a sedition investigation against her over demonstrations against the appointment of Muhyiddin as prime minister over the weekend.
“It is clear that it is done to silence us… Malaysians feel deeply about what’s going on in this country, I am not the only person,” the prominent activist was quoted as saying.
Speaking to reporters outside the Bukit Aman police headquarters, the activist condemned the investigation, calling it intimidation and harassment that went against the principle of free speech.
Fadiah is being investigated under the Sedition Act, and the Communications and Multimedia Act.
She had urged people on social media to join Saturday’s rally, calling the formation of the new government a “betrayal”.
The lawyer, who is also under a separate sedition investigation for allegedly insulting the monarchy shortly after the May 2018 elections, said she had been summoned for questioning this afternoon, and that the authorities have seized her Twitter account.
“Thanks everyone for your solidarity,” she tweeted, her first public statement since the police hauled her in for questioning.
“Following the investigation on me at Bukit Aman this afternoon, the police now have access to my Twitter account as I was compelled to surrender access under the Communications & Multimedia Act.
“We must not be intimidated. We will persevere.”
Asked if she is tired of demonstrating, Fadiah insisted on fighting.
“There’s no such thing as exhaustion for someone who believes in the truth, freedom, and justice. Yes, we are infuriated, but we will continue to fight,” she added.
Fadiah also questioned why the police did not question some supremacist groups which attacked her on social media.
“If the police have been surveilling my social media account, they must have been aware of the fact that I have been getting a lot of attacks by the supremacist group.
“Attacks are clearly gendered and they have not done anything to address that,” she said.
Other rights activists joined Fadiah at Bukit Aman today to show their solidarity, including Ivy Josiah, Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy and Marina Mahathir.
Ivy said she is alarmed by cyber-attacks toward Fadiah on social media.
“Police can make their own reports and probe all those people trolling her.
“This happens a lot. When women defenders speak up, they are attacked. This is what I urge the police to do. Stop intimidating rights to assemble and demonstrate.
“I demand they investigate the people who threatened her and other women who are human rights defenders,” Josiah said.
Sevan said what happened to Fadiah is not an individual, but people’s issue.
“Not only the new government robbed the people’s votes, but it robbed 20 years of our struggle to bring a change,” he said.
Bersih chairperson Thomas Fann said the recent change of government must not be accepted as normal as it is a disrespect to the democracy.
“We are here to say that we cannot accept what has happened to our democracy – the backdoor government that disrespects the mandate that people have given to rule for five years and to fulfil the manifesto.
“If we allow it, if we say nothing, we are condoning it. And this will become acceptable and normal. This is not normal. If it’s normal, why bother to vote?”
Marina echoed the same sentiment.
“I agree that people’s rights have been robbed.
“In the constitution, we have the right to speak up in whatever way. So, this is what we should defend.
“We should have the right to protest anytime and anywhere we can,” she said.
Meanwhile, student activist Wong Yang Ke called on the people to continue to fight in a long journey for democracy.
“New backdoor government seems to do a cleansing of the progressive force. What they are trying to do (is to) create a chilling effect on society.
“I think a lot of people like us feel helpless, frustrated, and disappointed on the current political turmoil, but we shouldn’t surrender because we had to fight for democracy for years.
“We shall stand united and win together. I would like to say, it’s a long journey for us to fight for democracy,” he said.
The authorities also have also launched investigations against Marina and Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan after the two attended a separate gathering organised by the Save Malaysia Committee on Sunday.
The police investigations against the activists have raised concern that the new government was clamping down on dissent and signalled the return of the days of BN’s rule.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid, however, pledged on Monday that the police would continue to respect the public’s right to free expression, but stressed that dissent must be within legal boundaries.