Police begin crackdown on opposition activists

Haris’ lawyer Gobind Singh Deo said the remand hearing will take place at 11am.

“Then, it is up to the majistrate whether to extend the remand or otherwise,” he said when met at the Jinjang Utara police station here.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh said the trio were detained under Section 4 (1) of the Sedition Act 1948 for uttering seditious words during a talk at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

The police have begun a crackdown on opposition figures and activists, barely weeks after a historic general election, the outcome of which started numerous unsatisfactory protests across the country.

Today morning, Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) student and activist Adam Adli Abd Halim was charged under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act 1948 for uttering seditious words during a talk at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Jalan Maharaja Lela between 8.55pm and 11.15pm on May 13.

The 24-year-old who had been remanded for the past five days, pleaded not guilty to the offence, which carries a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to RM5,000 or both.

Adam Adli was released on a RM5,000 court bail while his trial is set to be mentioned on July 2.

However, allegations of Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) founder Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard, being arrested as well, were not true.

SAMM, in a statement, said Chegubard has not been arrested as at 6pm today.

Meanwhile, DAP's Lifetime Advisor, Dr Chen Man Hin, Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming, Bilut state assemblyman Chow Yu Hui and Ketari state assemblyman Lee Chin Chen were called by the police to give statements for various remarks made during the recently concluded general election.

Newspapers linked to opposition parties were not spared from the exercise.

Earlier today, the Home Ministry seized 2,540 copies of newspapers published by opposition parties nationwide for allegedly violating the Printing Presses and Publications (Amendment) Act 2012.

The ministry, in a statement, said it seized 1,408 copies of Suara Keadilan, Harakah (1,062) and The Rocket (70) from stores.

The ministry said the seizure was made because the tabloids failed to adhere to conditions stipulated under the Act involving printing, importing, publishing without a permit, and failing to abide by conditions in the permit, namely distributing copies only to members.

In an immediate reaction, Home minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he had no hand in the arrests made.

"I left the matter to the police and I believe they have the basis and solid evidence to detain the three, and I played no part in the operations," he reportedly said.

The police and the home ministry’s acts were condemned by many including DAP national political education director Liew Chin Tong.

Comparing the clamping down exercise with the infamous 1987 Ops Lalang, Liew said these completely unnecessary show of force is intended to strike fear in the hearts of all thinking Malaysians and demand obedience to the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime which uses any weapons in its arsenal to snatch victory from the throes of death.

“The politics of fear and threats have always been the hallmark of BN's administration and successive Prime Ministers, in particular Tun Mahathir, have used the triple tools of the Home Ministry, police, and oppressive laws to maintain its grip on power.

“While spouting soothing slogans to the public after narrowly losing the election, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has outsourced the 'dirty job' of oppression to the Home Ministry, which has a portfolio of administering internal security to ensure peace and well-being of the people.

“However, who are "the people" that the Home Ministry is protecting?” he asked.

Liew added that the Home Ministry is making it abundantly clear that it exists to serve its political masters and not the best interest of the people.

Contradicting Liew, political analyst Chanzra Muzzafar the police's move today is not akin to the Operasi Lalang.

"We must understand that Ops Lalang used the Internal Security Act (ISA). These moves used the Sedition Act, not ISA. Those who are arrested will be tried in the court. We must understand the difference," he said.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has been holding various rallies across the country to show their unhappiness over the 13th general election results.