THE police must stop all investigations against Facebook users under the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act for postings relating to the current political situation, said Lawyers for Liberty (LFL).

LFL director Melissa Sasidaran said investigations on three individuals who commented on the country’s political situation will allow the authorities to arbitrarily interpret anything contentious as criminal.

“These investigations are examples of vague and indiscriminate nature of the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, which allow the authorities to arbitrarily interpret anything contentious as criminal, thus allowing them to clamp down on critical or dissenting opinions,” she said.

In a statement yesterday, Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Huzir Mohamed said the police have arrested a man and opened three other investigations on Facebook posts insulting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong over the nation’s political situation.

The other investigations were on Facebook users Aaron Yee, Gavin Lee and Haizad Azhar who each had a posting that insulted the king.

They had accused the king of undermining the country’s democracy and being racist, among others.

Huzir had said an investigation was also launched yesterday over a seditious post uploaded by Fadiah Nadwa Fikri on Twitter that could lead to disharmony, jeopardising public order.

Melissa said the unprecedented abuse of these laws during former prime minister Najib Razak’s reign marked the worst period for freedom of expression in the country’s history.

She added that the former Pakatan Harapan government had a commitment for reform, including the repeal of the Sedition Act and the draconian provisions of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

“We must never allow Malaysia to return to those dark days when such violations were the norm and the commitment for reform by the previous government must continue to be respected and the police must not facilitate the derailing of the progress made thus far.

“The police should strive to be a respectable institution that upholds the federal constitution and human rights. Such abuse of power is unacceptable, and we therefore call upon the police to cease all investigations which unduly interfere with the right to freedom of expression immediately.” – March 2, 2020.