We refer to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s speech yesterday in which he threatened imprisonment against anyone making statements regarding the Bloomberg news report that there are talks of opening a casino in Johor’s Forest City.
Anwar’s threat is unlawful, unprecedented and chilling. It is not the job or power of the prime minister to threaten arrest or imprisonment against the public. Neither is it his job to decide whether anyone has committed any crime. That is the role of the relevant enforcement body and the judiciary. The PM has no business to usurp that role. Only in a Marcos-style regime does the head of the executive threaten the people with imprisonment for making comments.
This type of authoritarian threat is shocking coming from a leader once seen as a leading advocate for reform in Malaysia. Under our democratic Constitution, the prime minister has no authority to threaten jail against the public for commenting on any public interest matter, even if the comments are wrong-headed. By any standards, this is a lurch towards authoritarian rule.
The alleged discussions on the casino was reported by Bloomberg, a reputable international news organisation, and public comments regarding the issue relate to this news. Similarly, the 1MDB corruption issue was exposed by foreign news agencies such as WSJ, leading to Anwar and PH leaders making serious allegations against then PM Najib Razak. Under Najib police action was taken against those speaking out on the issue, just as Anwar is threatening jail to all and sundry who talk about the casino issue.
In short, whether the allegations are true or not, the PM cannot resort to the criminal law to shut down public discussion. He can refute the allegations or take civil action, but he cannot jail people for talking about it or asking questions about it.
It is the right of any member of the public to discuss this issue in the exercise of their right under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Article 10 was once much relied upon by Anwar and his colleagues in PH when they were in opposition and facing police action for criticism of the then governments. Now they appear to regard it as a nuisance.
Anwar or the government have taken no steps to ask for the casino story to be retracted or to take any form of legal action against Bloomberg or other news sites regarding the claims, and the news remains available for anyone to access to online. Having chosen not to do this, why instead target the Malaysian public who comment on the news or express concern or criticisms in relation to it?
We also note that there is now a pattern of conduct where the PM invokes the royal institution as an excuse to wield oppressive laws such as the Sedition Act. This backdoor way of justifying denial of freedom of speech and the use of oppressive laws must stop.
PM Anwar Ibrahim must immediately retract his unlawful threat to jail the public over comments on the casino issue. To quote his own words, his threat is indeed “ undemocratic, harsh and iron-fisted”, and it augurs ill for Malaysian democracy.
Issued by:
Zaid Malek
Director
Lawyers for Liberty