THE authorities should stop harassing those advocating for a better society, said civil society groups.

Their call comes as lawyer-activist Siti Kasim is set to be questioned by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission today over her Facebook post which allegedly intended to humiliate and cause alarm.

Police will also question her.

Segambut MP and former deputy minister Hannah Yeoh is another person called up for questioning over a social media post.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) project manager Dobby Chew said Yeoh and Siti Kasim should not be targeted over their criticism.

“It’s not like they are threatening anyone or trying to ask people to overthrow the government.

“They are just challenging a notion, motion or an idea. So, how can that be a crime?” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The action against the two looks like targeted harassment, especially against individuals vocal against the administration or have a track record of advocating or championing rights, Chew said.

“It is not like they started criticising (the government) yesterday. It happened quite some time ago. It is nothing new. 

“They are digging up old news and this should not be happening.”

He also questioned the logic of those lodging complaints against Siti Kasim and Yeoh.

“If they want to make it an issue, then they should have taken action immediately (when it was posted on social media) and not months later.

“The authorities should leave them be. For a lack of better terms to describe this (their tweets), it is just political commentary.

“They (authorities) should actually look at those who are threatening others on social media.”

Last week, Siti Kasim said she was summoned by the police over several reports lodged against her by Muslim civil society group Pertubuhan Kebajikan Dakwah Islamiah (Pekida).

In recent weeks, she has taken to social media to criticise the management of tahfiz schools, saying that the schools themselves are not a problem but those running them are.

Yeoh, meanwhile, tweeted that she was summoned by Bukit Aman over a tweet in March questioning the fate of a five-year national strategy plan to end child marriage, which Pakatan Harapan announced in January.

Yesterday, she tweeted again to ask if she was also being investigated over a fake post attributed to her.

Violating freedom of speech

The Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) have also raised concerns about the action against Siti Kasim, Yeoh and over a series of ongoing investigations into alleged violations of freedom of speech in Malaysia. 

it said in a statement that since Perikatan Nasional took over in March, there has been an ongoing threat to Malaysia over the right to freedom of speech.

“In view of the deteriorating protections for freedom of speech, we urge the authorities to stop using oppressive tools that can cause fear and to prevent misunderstandings. 

“With the use of these oppressive tools, it shows that the country has not reached the level of a democratic community that Malaysians are fighting for.”

Proham also urged the government to provide an environment that enabled the people to play a leading role in the conduct of public affairs in a meaningful way. – June 18, 2020.