Chin Huat’s arrest condemned
By Zedeck Siew (The Nut Graph)
PETALING JAYA, 6 May 2009: A Malaysian think tank has condemned the arrest of political scientist Wong Chin Huat for alleged sedition.
"The police action is clearly aimed at intimidating civil society organisations and the public into passivity and acceptance of the power grab in Perak by the Barisan Nasional (BN)," said Centre for Policy Initiatives (CPI) director Dr Lim Teck Ghee in a statement today.
"The public should regard the arrest of Chin Huat as another round in the salvo of BN's dirty tricks and should show that [they are] not cowed by wearing black on 7 May," he added, calling the police action the result of "an unreformed and authoritarian political system".
Lim referred a press conference held by the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) on 5 May to launch its 1BLACKMalaysia campaign, which urged Malaysians to wear black on 7 May to protest the BN take-over of the Perak state government. Some consider Wong's arrest as directly related to the press conference, which Wong chaired in his capacity as Bersih representative.
"All the speakers (at the press conference) spoke responsibly of the right of Malaysians to participate in free and fair elections," Lim stressed, adding that there were no attempts at incitement or any other action that could be considered seditious.
"There is not an iota of evidence to charge Chin Huat or any of the other speakers under the sedition or any other law or regulation in the country," Lim added.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein's office declined comment on the reasons for Wong's arrest, saying that for the first round of such arrests it is the police who responds.
Bukit Aman Commercial CID director Datuk Koh Hong Sun said last night Wong was detained under the Sedition Act 1948 for writing several articles, including on the 1BLACKMalaysia campaign.
Koh, who declined to give details on Wong's detention, said police would decide today whether to extend his detention or not.
Read more at: http://www.thenutgraph.com/chin-huats-arrest-condemned
