KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 ― Socialist Party of Malaysia’s (PSM) Secretary-General S. Arutchelvan will be locked up overnight in the Dang Wangi district police headquarters after he was arrested for sedition earlier today.
Director of Kuala Lumpur contingent crime prevention and community safety department SAC Zainuddin Ahmad said Arutchelvan was detained over a PSM statement on February 10 denouncing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy verdict as a “political judgment, beyond reasonable doubt”.
“The comment made was meant to arouse hatred and insult, or to arouse dissent over the administration of justice in Malaysia or any states,” Zainuddin told Malay Mail Online in a text message.
Zainuddin however did not respond to Malay Mail Online’s queries over the time of the arrest, which came at the evening of the Chinese New Year.
Arutchelvan’s lawyer New Sin Yew said he arrived escorted by police at around 8pm, with his laptop, modem and phone bills confiscated, among others.
New also said Arutchelvan has not yet been interviewed by the investigating officer, and will be remanded at 10am tomorrow.
“I made that statement as the Secretary-General of PSM and it is my duty to state the party’s position,” Arutchelvan told Malay Mail Online through his lawyer.
“The police has arrested me in bad faith because today is Chinese New Year holiday and if it is so urgent to arrest me, why have they have not done anything since I was arrested?”
Earlier today, Malay Mail Online reported that over 10 police officers were outside Arutchelvan’s house in Kajang, Selangor to take him and his belongings for investigations.
According to a report by English daily theSun last week, the police were looking to investigate Jingga 13 chief and PKR leader Fariz Musa, Arutchelvan, and Penang state exco Dr Afif Bahardin.
IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was reported as saying that Fariz will be investigated allegedly for inciting street protests, Arutchelvan for claiming political conspiracy in Anwar’s case, while Afif had purportedly asked the public to no longer trust the judiciary.
Cartoonist Zunar or Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ulhaque was remanded for three days last week after he was arrested over a Twitter post that mentioned the judiciary and political masters.
Other than the cartoonist, Khalid also ordered police to investigate DAP MP Nga Kor Ming and PKR MP Rafizi Ramli for sedition, both for tweets on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction.
Putrajaya had previously pledged to repeal the Sedition Act 1948 that critics say is used to stifle political opposition and dissent, but later announced that it will be retained and expanded instead.
The Federal Court on Tuesday upheld the Court of Appeal’s 2014 ruling that had reversed Anwar’s acquittal of sodomising former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, also sentencing him to five years’ jail.
