Press Statement
Arrest of Chegubard under the draconian Sedition Act is an abuse of police powers & proves the Madani govt has no respect for the democratic rights of the people
29 July 2025
We refer to the news yesterday that prominent opposition activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin (Chegubard) was arrested by police under the Sedition Act for whipping an effigy of PM Anwar Ibrahim during the “Turun Anwar” rally last Saturday.
The arrest and investigation of Chegubard is blatantly unlawful and an abuse of power. There is no criminal offence in flogging an effigy at a protest. It is done to convey a message to the government of public discontent with the actions and policies of the government or PM. It is an entirely legitimate form of protest. The use of effigies, banners, caricatures in public demonstrations are an essential feature of democracy worldwide.
Members of government like Adam Adli and many others have been singing praises to the Madani government for upholding democracy by “allowing” the “Turun Anwar” rally to go on last Saturday. At the same time, police suddenly raided Chegubard’s house and picked him up, even though he was scheduled to meet them the next day. Is this a Jekyll and Hyde government? There is an Orwellian disjunct between the pleasant-sounding words of the Madani leaders and their swift suppression of dissent by police powers. The right to freedom of assembly is rendered meaningless if the public are subsequently arrested for exercising their freedom of speech and expression.
No amount of posturing can change the fact that the Madani government has shown little respect for democracy. They are claiming to uphold it, yet in the days leading up to the rally, the AGC and the Chief Secretary actively warned and threatened civil servants from joining the protest. Madani takes credit for the fact that they rally was allowed to proceed, but in fact that is an exercise of constitutionally guaranteed right under Article 10(1)(b) of the Federal Constitution and the PAA 2012 which is not for the government to “allow”. They boast that people can now protest without fear of reprisals under their rule, yet are quick to go after an activist who criticised the PM at the Saturday rally.
As long as the Sedition Act 1948 remains in our criminal law, the Madani government cannot claim that it upholds democracy. The constitutional right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly remains under threat as long as draconian laws continue to exist to be wielded by the government against any who criticise and oppose them.
We remind the government that under our Constitution, the PM has no special protection from criticism, ridicule or insults. Have the members of Pakatan Harapan forgotten how they rallied behind activist Fahmi Reza when he was charged for drawing a clown caricature of the then Prime Minister Najib Razak? Similarly, PKR Deputy-President Nurul Izzah, when investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act in 2016 for reposting Najib’s clown caricature on her social media, condemned the investigation against her as an act of intimidation.
Harapan leaders appear to have developed a collective amnesia over the position they once took over freedom of speech and expression. Because today, these same leaders are silent over the arrest of Chegubard under the Sedition Act for his exercise of freedom of expression in the “Turun Anwar” rally.
We demand that the government ensure that the investigation against Chegubard is dropped immediately, that he is released from custody and that they institute a moratorium against the use of the Sedition Act 1948 and take immediate steps to repeal it in this session of parliament.
Issued by,
Zaid Malek
Director
Lawyers For Liberty