Sedition charges against Sanusi could be a game changer in the coming state elections
However, there could be hidden costs
Its no secret the Kedah MB Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor had been portrayed as ‘public enemy No. 1’ over the last few weeks. Sanusi didn’t help himself by the remarks, language, and challenges he made. Sanusi seemed to take up the challenge and stepped into a trap, by his own making.
Sanusi was arrested at his KL hotel at 3.00am this morning and taken to the Gombak Police Headquarters and charged with Section 4(1)(a) of the Sedition Act 1948, for alleged seditious remarks against the Sultan of Selangor Sharafuddin Shah, on July 11. Under very heavy security at the Selayang Sessions Court, Sanusi pleaded not guilty to the charges, where the matter has been set for October 4.
The complaint came directly from the Selangor Ruler’s Council, so the unity government cannot be accused of using the police and court system to their political advantage. The Sultan of Sultan of Selangor was snubbed by the former PAS minister for religious affairs Idris Ahmad last year, when Sultan Sharafuddin asked the minister to attend the Japanese Bon Odori festival to see it himself. Idris refused to attend. The Sultan himself didn’t accept Sanusi’s earlier apologies.
There have been a number of instances where PAS leaders have not been polite and snubbed Royalty over the last couple of years, reflecting a subliminal leaning towards Muslim Brotherhood conceptual ideologies of an Islamic Republic.
However, the charges against Sanusi have come at a very opportune time just 4 weeks before the state elections. There have been thousands of supportive comments for the charges against Sanusi across all social media platforms over the last 24 hours.
The PAS caretaker MB of Kedah, who is also Perikatan Nasional’s campaign strategist is now the symbolic ‘bogeyman’ of all PAS racist and bigoted rhetoric.
This is a potential godsend for PH in the coming elections. Uncommitted Malay voters who were sitting on the fence may be motivated to fall behind the unity government, rather than vote for PN or abstain from voting altogether. Non-Malay voters may now make that extra effort to come out and vote for the unity government to ensure Perikatan Nasional, and in particular PAS does not win.
It appears Sanusi has damaged PN’s electoral chances in Selangor, a state PH-BN strategists have been worrying about. The Sedition charges against Sanusi may have saved the PH Selangor government. There is little sympathy for Sanusi among the Indian community, which he had on a number of occasions insulted. In addition, many within the urban communities around Kedah have complained about the poor performance of Sanusi’s government on the ground. Tourism in Langkawi has suffered as well. There could potentially be flow-on effects in Kedah as well.
Before Sanusi was charged many political analysts believed Kedah would definitely stay in PN’s hands.
Zaid Ibrahim has been critical of the unity government using the Sedition Act to prosecute political opponents. Pakatan Harapan had once pledged to repeal the law, but are now using it. Zaid was quoted as saying;
Former Bersih leader and human rights lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan in a tweet this morning supported Zaid’s sentiments.
This met with mixed responses. Lawyers for Liberty have also aired concerns over using the Sedition Act by a government led by Pakatan Harapan.
With public fervour supportive of the Sedition charges laid on Sanusi, discussion about issues of freedom of speech and the use of the judiciary as a political weapon against opponents will not hold water in public opinion.
While there is celebration, at a deeper level there are concerns, where those who harbour those concerns are scared to talk about them to others.
Counterintuitively, the charges laid on Sanusi are making him a hero to the solid base of PAS supporters. This could polarize Malays even more.
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Sedition-"conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch".
It is noteworthy that Ambga Srinivasan a self proclaimed constitutional expert should come out swinging, cloaked in the garb of a human rights lawyer this time, to protest the use of the sedition act to attack a political opponent.
The irony of such comments by Ambiga referred to in this article I am sure is not lost on any intelligent and independent minded observer of Malaysian politics.
Ambiga is on the record for having of her own admission in her activities as head of Bersih, admitting to having committed the offence of sedition by definition.
The offense of seeking to, inciting by speech, words and actions and agitating to overthrow the government of his majesty the King of Malaysia through Bersih's riots is sedition. In fact extends further to treason. By getting rid of the legislation, Anwar or anyone else cannot remove the fact it is an offence to do those things the current Act of sedition identifies and defines as sedition.
To abolish the legislation on sedition altogether does is to legitimise the unlawful overthrow of the Agong and the Raja Raja Melayu and their governments.
There are the conventions of the constitution and the common law that support the theory and principle of law that, attempts and incitement to overthrow governments is unlawful and seditious. Has anyone ever actually give a thought to what the rule of law and equality before the law means?
To charge Sanusi for the offence of Sedition, using a poorly defined and drafted piece of legislation (revised in 1969) which has its genesis in a totally different era of Malaysian politics in 1948 during the communist insurgency and the birth of Malay Nationalism is an absurdity.
It is not just folly to do so but dammned downright reinforcement and an indictment on Malaysia's legal fraternity, its governments (advised by them) and the courts misunderstanding if not ignorance of how the constitution and the law operates or is required to operate.
As if the embarassment of jailing a sitting member of parliament in DS Najib without due process was not enough discomfiture, the courts in Malaysia now seek to buttress their reputation as idiots by charging Sanusi ofr Sedition; or
as Michael Bassey Johnson put it : “You'll make a bundle of blunders if you consider yourself too clever to look at anothers work.”
Inconsistency in the application of laws is dangerous and should not be followed by any validly constituted court or tribunal. For it creates a precedent by which other courts and tribunals, and subsequent governments and defendants will rely on the inconcistent application of this example when defending a charge of sedition as a valid defense.
To charge Sanusi for under Sedition laws dilutes the validity and the power of the law and further erode the integrity of the Parliament that makes these laws.
Once again I am reminded of Ambiga Srinivasan and Tommy Thomas's irredeemable performances in acts of sedition.
If the laws of sedition could not or would not be equally applied to Ambiga and Thomas, then how could it be applied fairrly to Sanusi? Where lies the exception in the constitution or in the criminal code to justify charging Sanusi on the offence of sedition whilst allowing Ambiga, Thomas and various members of the Malaysian Bar to go Scot free for committing similar offences.
All that these charges against Sanusi and people like him do is it to make a martyr of him and embolden the growing Malay Muslim constituency of PAS.
The truth is no government will ever dare or be foolish enough to legislate to legitimize a threat to overthrow it in office especially if that is through illegal undemocratic means by abilishing the sedition act.
Perhaps Malaysia with the quality of its legal and judicial fraternity may be an exception to this presumption.
Even US has its Patriots Act, snaked in a few months past 9/11. It also has Operations Vigilante Eagle designed to bring in veterans who object to the government’s unethical conduct of wars. In the Patriots Act there is the all encompassing charge of Treason against the US. So Malaysia is not alone