KUCHING, July 23 ― Peter John Jaban, the chief organiser of yesterday’s Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) Freedom and Independence walk, is being investigated under the Sedition Act.
The rights activist confirmed with Malay Mail Online that he was summoned to the Simpang Tiga district police headquarters at 4pm yesterday where he had his statement recorded by two police teams and different times.
“The police completed taking down my statements at about 11pm last night,” he said.
He explained that the police had questioned him on the use of the word “negara” (country) to refer to Sarawak and the inclusion of “referendum” in the banners and placards promoting the event.
The activist said, however, that he saw no wrong in referring to Sarawak as a “negara” as Malaysia is a federation comprising Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak.
“Referendum”, on the other hand, could be for anything, Jaban said, claiming it does not necessary mean it is a call for a review of Sarawak’s position in the federation.
He said he was not surprised that he was called in for questioning, noting that the police had earlier warned organisers not to proceed with the walk.
But despite acknowledging the ban, Jaban said he had wanted to prove to Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar that nothing untoward would happen during the event.
According to Khalid, there were elements in the S4S movement that he claimed wanted to instigate others into calling for Sarawak’s cessation from Malaysia, which is now deemed a crime under the Sedition Act.
“I was proven right because the rally was very peaceful and those attending were behaving themselves well. The atmosphere was more like a festival where everyone enjoyed themselves.
“I want to thank them for behaving themselves well and I consider them as real Sarawakian heroes,” he said.
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) secretary-general Nicholas Mujah was similarly summoned to the police station at 11am this morning.
At the time of writing, Mujah was still giving his statement.
The rally yesterday that drew over 10,000 people to the Song Kheng Hai field, was jointly organised jointly by SADIA and S4S movement.
The event had among others, called on the state government to declare July 22 a public holiday in conjunction with the day Sarawak won its independence from the British in 1963.
Fifty-five days later after achieving independence, Sarawak joined Malaya, Sabah (then known as North Borneo) and Singapore to formed the Federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963.
Singapore, however, was expelled from the federation in 1965.
