JANUARY 17 — PEN Malaysia expresses deep concern over the arrest of journalist Rex Tan following a question posed to George Galloway. Freedom of expression includes the right to ask questions: awkward, ill-framed, or even ignorant ones without fear of arrest. Criminalising speech of this nature sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the foundations of a democratic society.

We are clear and unequivocal: equating racism and discrimination with an unfolding genocide in Gaza is intellectually careless and politically ignorant. Such false equivalences must be challenged, corrected, and robustly rebutted in the public sphere. But they must not be policed through handcuffs. The answer to bad speech is better speech, not state punishment.

Tan was acting in his capacity as a journalist. Journalists are not tasked with asking only the “right” questions, nor with mirroring the sensibilities of those in power. They are tasked with probing, testing, and sometimes getting it wrong. To arrest a journalist for a question, however poorly framed, is to chill press freedom itself.

Arrests in cases like this open the door to the abuse of state power. When law enforcement becomes the arbiter of what questions are acceptable, the boundaries of permissible speech narrow rapidly, and arbitrarily. Today it is an “ignorant” question; tomorrow it may be a critical one.

We therefore reject any move that normalises arrests as a response to speech. Such actions foster fear, encourage self-censorship, and weaken the public’s ability to engage in open political debate. They also divert attention from addressing racism, discrimination, and mass violence through informed and principled discourse.

PEN Malaysia also condemns the doxxing, threats, and sustained online harassment directed at Tan following this incident. Disagreement, even fierce political disagreement, does not justify mob intimidation or the targeting of an individual’s safety. In circumstances such as these, it is the journalist who may be in need of police protection.

We call for the government’s recommitment to freedom of expression and press freedom. A state that arrests journalists for questions is one that has lost confidence in its democratic values.

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