Watch your mouth! It’s raining ‘sedition’ in Malaysia!
V Shuman, The Ant Daily
If Putrajaya is a double-barrel shotgun, it seems to be firing with both barrels at once, downing people via the security and judicial systems.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and his police chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar seem to be on a roll, tag teaming to pick up everyone from voluntary patrol unit members to academics, and subjecting them to the court of law, with a little help on the ringside from Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.
Most of the people on the receiving end happen to be on the wrong side of the political divide, while others are in the news for allegedly insulting certain parties, or merely questioning the way certain issues were handled by the government.
Well, if ever there was a bright side to this, it ought to teach netizens a thing or two about not getting too bold (e.g. calling people names) while hiding behind their keyboards, but that’s pretty much it.
The question remains how, or rather why, bigots who cry blue murder and threaten bloodshed at the slightest provocation (or mere questioning), and people who go against court orders, remain scot free.
Remember the threat by Malay right wing group Perkasa to behead those who questioned Malay rights and the power of Sultan? What about the call by the radical group’s head Datuk Ibrahim Ali to burn Malay bibles, at the height of the Allah controversy?
If calling a political party “celaka” is seditious and capable of provoking a particular group, how is calling for bloodshed, beheading and burning the holy book of a religious community not seditious, Putrajaya?
What about the two Muslim convert fathers who went against court orders to surrender their children to the rightful guardians – their mothers?
What actions were taken against them? You can bet your bottom that there was none.
Some of them had their statements taken, which is the police’s way of saying “Hey we are doing something”, but it stops there.
