Global rights group Amnesty International urged Malaysia Friday to end its "post-election crackdown" which has seen four critics arrested in the aftermath of the government's worst electoral result. The arrests made in the past week under the Sedition Act - which Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged last year to repeal - comes amid opposition claims that fraud marred the May 5 general election and cost them victory.
London-based Amnesty International said the two politicians, including an elected lawmaker, and two activists were arrested under the "repressive law... solely for peacefully expressing their political beliefs".
"Rather than abolishing the repressive sedition law as promised, the government is now using it against peaceful protestors," said its Asia-Pacific deputy director Isabelle Arradon in a statement. Senior opposition politician Chua Tian Chang, his colleague Tamrin Ghafar, and activist Haris Ibrahim were detained Thursday, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mohmad Salleh said in a statement. The three were held overnight for what police said were statements made during a public post-election forum on May 13 "inciting" people. They were released Friday after a further remand application was denied by a local judge.
Earlier Thursday student activist Adam Adli Halim was also charged under the Sedition Act over a statement made at the same forum, and then released on bail. The clampdown shows no sign of slowing down. Opposition MP Thomas Su said Friday he has been ordered to appear in court Monday to face a charge under the Peaceful Assembly Act for allegedly organising an "illegal" post-election rally. Najib, whose party won 133 of 222 parliamentary seats but gained just 46.6 percent of the popular vote, announced last year he would repeal the Sedition Act, calling it part of a "bygone era."