Further use of the Sedition Act for political persecution
The case of Kean Wong remanded in police custody for another day
Kean Wong will be spending his second night in police detention over investigation for sedition. Kean Wong arrived back in Malaysia from Australia, and went to Kelana Jaya to renew his Malaysian passport at the immigration office. It was here he was arrested under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, and Section 5 of the Emblems and Names (Preventing improper use) Amendment Act 2016.
The court earlier today, remanded Kean Wong for one more day, while police continue to investigate this 3 year old case.
The alleged sedition arises from a book of articles written by academics about the 2018 general election, Rebirth: Reformasi, Resistance, and Hope in New Malaysia. Kean Wong was the editor of the book. The cover of the book had a reproduction of a painting done by a Sarawakian Shia Yih Ying, more than a decade before the book was assembled. It had been in a number of art exhibitions without any issue, during that decade.
However, police raided the publisher Gerakbudaya Sdn. Bhd, on the grounds that the book allegedly insulted the Malaysian Coat of Arms with an improperly modified design. Police confiscated all copies the publisher had on hand, and the owner of Gerakbudaya apologised for any ‘unintentional’ breach of the law.
Three years later Kean Wong is locked up in the Dang Wangi police station. This is 5 years after the book was published.
Alleged enemy of the state Kean Wong
The question is why must Kean Wong be detained further, if the police have been investigating this case for over three years? This appears to be selective persecution, rather than any investigation. At the time the case was investigated by police back in 2020, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) defended the book, saying the Emblems and Names Act only prevented the use of the National Coat of Arms without the written permission of the minister, while artistic use was not covered by the act.
A comparison of the Shia painting and the Malaysian Coat of Arms. Art can only be seen through the eyes of the beholder. It is apparent artist Shia Yih Ying clearly had another message than what the authorities are seeing.
Ironically, the man the book had hope in, is now the leader of the government who is pursuing his prosecution. This case is one more example of the anti-free speech culture of this government.
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Well they can't complain now. They asked for it. In fact they begged for it. They (including the Kean Wong's of Malaysia) fought for Anwar to be their leader. And by implication they wanted his policy changes being implemented in Malaysia.
The first and only PM they had that allowed them real democracy was Datuk Seri Najib. He allowed these serpents and maggots to run riot with Bersih, distortions and abusive interpretations of the national anthem and insults to the Malays, Muslims, their Kings and Sultans, defiance of their constitution and laws and generally anti Islam anti Malay behaviour. He revoked the Internal Security Act and watered down the sedition act. Today these Chinese Communist remnants complain against the government they brought in by default.
Let them eat cake. Bring back the ISA and jail them for ever.
The political leadership is so frail that this draconian legislation is necessary (according to them) to maintain stability. Corruption has engulfed Malaysia -everywhere billions of dollars stolen by Malay businesses raping the country. Some of those elites can't be arrested because the government will fall. A vicious circle. Anwar always wanted to be PM, now he has it, so he wants to continue ignoring all these criminals within his cabinet. Sad, Malaysia was once a great country -every democratic institution was dismantled by DR M and his successors-that we can't even call Malaysia an illiberal democracy. Malays (the majority) a sheepish people dont really have the guts to go out into the streets and demonstrate peacefully -they follow a corrupted malay leadership like sheep while being totally cheated.