Dr M: We don’t want a police state

(Malay Mail Online) – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has criticised Putrajaya for arresting reporters over an allegedly seditious article, cautioning that such action was sending Malaysia towards becoming a police state.

In an excerpt of a video interview uploaded to YouTube by blogger Firdaus Abdullah, the former prime minister appears to refer to the recent detention of four reporters from The Malaysian Insider over a now-retracted article on the Conference of Rulers.

“I have waited for that, I have tried and tried, but finally when I found that reporters from The Edge were arrested for supposedly seditious (reports)… I don’t think it is the right way to use power.

“He will say it is not him, it’s the police… but we don’t want to have a police state where the police comes to arrest people,” he said in the video.

It is unclear from the incomplete clip whom Dr Mahathir was referring to in the second sentence.

The excerpt appears to be from an interview the former prime minister had with blogger “Din Turtle” from the weekend, during which Dr Mahathir also said Datuk Seri Najib Razak had reneged on an agreement over the so-called “Crooked Bridge” and repeated his criticisms over the 1 Malaysia People’s Aid.

The so-called “Crooked Bridge” was Dr Mahathir’s idea to replace the Causeway, but was discontinued by his successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and believed to be among reasons why the latter was hounded out of office by the man who put him there.

In recent remarks, Dr Mahathir said he could no longer remain silent and that the days for diplomacy have long passed, adding he will now push for Najib’s resignation openly.

He said the prime minister’s refusal to address allegations such as those surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd and linking him to the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu put Barisan Nasional’s rule at risk.

Last month, police arrested four editors from The Malaysian Insider and their publisher over an article claiming that the Conference of Rulers had rejected proposed legal amendments that would allow the enforcement of hudud, the Islamic penal code.

All five were arrested under the Sedition Act 1948 and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to assist in investigations.

The Sedition Act was amended last week to include new offences and harsher sentences under the colonial-era law that critics say is used to silence dissent.