KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 — Legal group Lawyers for Liberty today called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to drop all investigations into his critics and uphold Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) promise of government reform.
Its director Zaid Malek said the new government must avoid the pitfalls and excesses of previous governments if it truly wants to empower free speech and a robust democratic culture.
“We call upon the new government and prime minister to uphold their promise of reform in the GE15 manifesto and halt all investigations on critics of the prime minister,” he said in a statement.
“It is unacceptable for the new government, which promised reforms, to immediately call for police action against critics of the prime minister,” he added.
He noted that PKR communications chief Fahmi Fadzil had said two days ago that the prime minister had instructed the police to take action on “slanderous” critics.
Several news outlets, including The Star and Malaysiakini, reported Fahmi telling reporters on Monday night that Anwar had no problems with those questioning his choice of footwear but drew the line at slander, giving as example those who accused the PM of being an Israeli agent.
Bukit Aman has confirmed an investigation on PAS’ Baling MP Hassan Saad over the Israeli allegation, under Section 504 and Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation and intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace respectively, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act for improper use of network facilities.
But Zaid viewed involving the police on slander as an abuse of power.
“The prime minister holds no special status at law, and cannot lawfully call on the police to defend his reputation. It would be an abuse of power for the prime minister to order police investigations into people who make accusations against him, as he is an interested party.
“Like all other citizens, should Anwar feel aggrieved by adverse comments, he must file a defamation suit in a civil court. The job of the police is to prevent crime, not to protect the prime minister from insult or criticism,” Zaid added.
“The fact that the police probe is apparently at Anwar’s behest is inappropriate and potentially unlawful.
“Will citizens feel afraid now to criticise the PM?” Zaid asked.
He also called out PH, alleging that it was reversing its GE15 pledge to Section 233 of the Communications.
He reminded PH leaders that they had once been on the receiving end of police action when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was prime minister and should know better than to foist it on their critics.
“Indeed, PH had always taken the position that it is untenable for the prime minister to use the police force to silence critics,” he said.
Zaid stressed that police powers were to guard public order.
“In a functioning democracy, police action cannot be taken against politicians or critics for issuing objectionable or insulting or false statements against anyone, including the prime minister.
“If the police initiate criminal investigations into every accusation or insult to the prime minister, it will be a slippery slope towards authoritarianism.
“No matter how objectionable or insulting the speech may be, criminal action cannot be the response. That is how we foster a healthy democracy,” he said.
