The Advocates Association of Sarawak (“the Association”) is alarmed and concerned over the Government’s recent use of its police and prosecutorial powers to arrest and charge opposition leaders and human rights activists under the Sedition Act 1948 – an archaic piece of legislation which even the Government itself has conceded is due for repeal.
The Association calls upon the Government to engage in real national reconciliation without further delay and promote constructive discourse on our way forward together as a nation that is inclusive of all Malaysians regardless of their political leanings. It is imperative that the Government move quickly to dispel widespread public perception of selective prosecution of both individuals and NGOs who have highlighted shortcomings in the election process and results.
We welcome statements by the authorities that they are acting to uphold the rule of law but the arrests of only individuals from the other side of the political divide coupled with raids on and confiscation of the Opposition’s printed media achieve nothing but entrench further the belief that the law is only applied to opponents of the ruling coalition.
The Government must now demonstrate it is a Government for all Malaysians by exercising fairness and by applying the force of the law to all its transgressors equally irrespective of their political affiliations.
It must act in the spirit of the Federal Constitution and at the same be restrained by the limits imposed by it. The very legitimacy of its actions will be scrutinised and judged by how it respects its own citizens’ constitutional rights and freedoms.
The Association calls on all parties on both sides of the divide – the ruling coalition, the Opposition, NGOs and civil society – to exercise their democratic rights under the Federal Constitution responsibly and to pursue their legitimate grievances through the mechanisms provided under the laws of the land.
In this context, Malaysians place their hope in the members of the Judiciary; trusting them to adjudicate the disputes before them fairly and independently without fear or favour, guided by their solemn oath as judges to faithfully preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
Khairil Azmi bin Mohd Hasbie
President
Advocates Association of Sarawak