KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — National police chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar warned Malaysians against attending a Marxism course organised by Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) later this month, saying it is against the law.

The inspector-general of police had previously promised to take action against the organiser if they went ahead with the planned course.

“Bukan shj Penganjur, Peserta yg hadir Kursus menyalahi Undang2 ini, akan turut diambil tindakan oleh @PDRMsia,” Khalid wrote in Malay on his official Twitter account @KBAB51.

[Translation: “Not just the organiser, participants who attend this course is going against the law and action will also be taken by @PDRMsia”.] However, it is unknown what law the organiser or participants would be violating by attending the course as the IGP did not elaborate.

Khalid had previously tweeted that the police will not allow the Marxism course scheduled for March 20 at the Petaling Jaya Cultural Hall in Selangor.

Marxism is the socioeconomic theory based on the teachings of German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, but is often conflated with the Marxism-Leninism political philosophy that is often tied to communist regimes.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive of think tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs had previously chided the IGP for warning stern action against the organiser.

He said it was unacceptable to bar ideas or ideologies simply because authorities did not agree with or approve of them.