KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — PKR has filed a motion in Parliament demanding the censure and removal of Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar as Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for the mass arrests of politicians and social activists since the beginning of the year.

The motion was submitted by PKR Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin to Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia under Section 18 (1) of the parliamentary standing orders.

“This august House must debate the conduct of the IGP and decide on sacking him for three reasons.

“An abuse of Sedition Act, arrests against civilians taking part in peaceful assemblies and a crackdown through the use of Twitter,” Sim told reporters after reading the contents of the motion filed this morning.

“I am urging the home minister to sack the IGP to defend the good name of the police force,” the PKR MP said.

An active user of Twitter, Khalid regularly uses the social network to order the police to investigate individuals or groups using the Sedition Act.

But his public directives have drawn allegations of selective action to target government critics such as activists and opposition lawmakers.

The Sedition Act was also used to arrest PKR MP Nurul Izzah Anwar over a speech she read on behalf of jailed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Parliament, prompting concern by opposition lawmakers that they will be muzzled even within the confines of the lower house.

Khalid previously claimed that the high-profile enforcement led to a decline in instances of sedition online.