Alvin Tan and the Freedom of Expression

By admin-s Last updated Oct 7, 2014

Alvin is purposely pushing the buttons of the Malaysian government and using their response to support his claim for political asylum

Rebutted Opinions

Alvin Tan is no stranger to controversy. He gained notoriety as a result of his blog which contained his sexual escapades with then partner, Vivian Lee. Once the spotlight was on Alvin and Vivian, there was no turning back.

They took it up a notch by posting a photograph on Facebook with the comment “Selamat Berbuka Puasa (dengan bak kut teh… wangi, enak, menyelerakan)” [Happy breaking fast with bak kut teh…fragrant, delicious, appetising]. Adding insult to injury, the picture contained a halal logo.

There was no surprise when their asinine action gained the ire of many Malaysians. It clearly poked fun at the religious beliefs of Muslims, and is completely unacceptable in a multi-religious society like Malaysia

Many, however, have stood up and defended Alvin’s actions on the basis that he is merely utilising his freedom of expression, as enshrined in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Prima facie, that seems to be the case

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (of which Malaysia is a signatory) guarantees that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) elaborated on Article 19 of the UDHR by stipulating that the freedom of expression may be “subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:

(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.”

The Parliament of Malaysia has passed certain laws (e.g. s.298, s.298A, and s.500 of the Penal Code, Defamation Act 1957) restricting the freedom of speech in Malaysia [as allowed in Article 10(2) and 10(4) of the Federal Constitution] for the purposes mentioned above

The freedom of speech does not translate into the right to say whatever you want. The freedom of speech/expression gives you the right to speak/express yourself responsibly. Failure to do so would then lead to criminal prosecution under the laws of the land

Fast forward slightly over a year later, it was reported that Alvin Tan is seeking political asylum in the United States and is already at the final stages

Political Asylum USA states that “a person can qualify for asylum, or political asylum, if he or she has a reasonable fear of future persecution, on account of race, religion, national origin, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group”

The website goes on to say that “a reasonable fear just means one need not prove conclusively that they will be persecuted in the future; only that they have a good reason to fear that it will happen.”

“Persecution means that the harm an asylum seeker is afraid of is severe enough to be considered a serious violation of one’s human rights”

The key element for a political asylum application is the reasonable fear of persecution on account of political opinion. Back to Alvin’s case, is he being persecuted because of his political beliefs? No.