ABOUT 30 people including members of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), held a candlelight vigil tonight at Kajang prison for Muslim preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin, who began serving his one-year jail sentence today for insulting the sultan of Selangor.

They gathered near the jail entrance at 9pm, holding candles and chanting “Mansuh akta hasutan” (abolish the Sedition Act) to show solidarity with the PKR-linked religious figure. 

Activist Amir Abdul Hadi said the Sedition Act must be abolished as promised by Pakatan Harapan in its election manifesto.

“The draconian law must be abolished. It was a promise made by PH. But today, our friend Wan Ji is in jail because of it (the law),” he said.

Wan Ji was sentenced after the Shah Alam High Court rejected his appeal to strike out his conviction and nine-month jail sentence for insulting the sultan on Facebook seven years ago.

High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman instead added three months to the sentence after considering the prosecution’s counter-appeal.

Halim said Wan Ji had used words in his Facebook posts that were insulting to Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah. 

“It is not just an insult but it will also breed hatred for the royal institution. It is overboard and we must remember the Rukun Negara that is ‘kesetiaan kepada raja-raja’ (loyalty to the rulers).

“Although we are given our freedom, there is a limit to everything and we are bound to follow the rule of law in our daily lives,” the judge had said.

Amir tonight asked the government why it is enforcing a law that was introduced by the British colonialists even after decades of independence. 

“The sedition law was established in 1948, before Malaysia was formed and before independence. We are still using it and this should not continue.”

Also present at the event were Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member S. Arutchelvan and Bersih 2.0 chairperson Thomas Fann.

Reformasi icon Anwar Ibrahim earlier today expressed sympathy for Wan Ji.

The PKR president said the punishment was too harsh and inconsistent with the government’s pledge of democratic reform. – July 9, 2019.