JULY 18 — Safwan Anang’s final attempt at seeking liberty at the Court of Appeal today shows how democratic space continue to shrink. It is yet another shameful attempt to revive a relic of the colonial past.

What was Safwan Anang’s crime? He spoke about electoral fraud in the 2013 General Elections, ranging from late arrival of postal boxes to misuse of governmental resources, indelible ink and so on. To date, nothing has happened to the EC, whereas Safwan has exhausted both appeals.

He was first sentenced to 10 months imprisonment by the Sessions Court in September 2014. He appealed the sentence, and the High Court reduced his sentence to a RM5,000 fine in December 2015. In less than 24 hours, the prosecution appealed the High Court’s decision, paving way for a showdown at the Court of Appeal.

In 2014, hundreds of others were arrested, detained, investigated or charged under the Sedition Act in what was dubbed a "Sedition dragnet”, a move human rights activists condemn as a shameful act to silence critics and revive a culture of fear.

What were the other hundreds’ crime? They drew cartoons, criticised corruption and leakages, gave a legal opinion in line with his expertise etc.

Human rights organisations, civil society activists, academics, legal experts and the international community continue to condemn the atrocity.

In 2015, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad at the Opening of the 30^th Human Rights Council raised the United Nation’s concerns over the need for Malaysian authorities to intimidate free speech. Again in March 2016, at the Opening of the 31^st Human Rights Council, the concern was repeated.

We are all at the mercy of a Sedition Act, simply because there is no clear definition of the word "seditious”.

Anything and everything is seditious. It could be because of a Facebook status or a like, a tweet or a retweet. In August 2014, a secondary school student was investigated for Sedition because he liked a Facebook page.

In fact, the Sedition Act disregards the truth. You could be catching a thief red handedly, but still end up guilty of sedition.

Challenger is concerned on the growing authoritarianism, intolerance for dissent and disregard for human rights. We are also very concerned with the reputation of Malaysia in the eyes of the international community.

Today, we are Safwan Anangs. Last month, we were Hishamuddin Rais. We are also Adam Adlis, Anwar Ibrahims, Azmi Sharoms and Zunars. We are in fact, all, at the mercy of the Sedition Act.

Adrian Lim Chee En

Challenger Activist

ChallengerTV Malaysia

*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the view of Malay Mail Online.