THE Association for Community and Dialogue is concerned about the current investigations against Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh over a twitter post in which she expressed concern over the future mational strategic plan to address the causes of underage marriage under the new government. 

According to the police, Yoeh is being investigated under Section 505 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998.

During Pakatan Harapan’s short two years of government, many racial offensive and provocative remarks were thrown at the elected government by the leaders of the opposition but no action was taken. There were provocative demonstrations against ICERD that could have caused security problems but no action was taken against the perpetrators. Freedom of speech and assembly was respected even though there were other issues where arrest and detention were arbitrary especially in relation to a defunct movement.

Today there seems to be a situation under the Perikatan Government where authorities are not able to distinguish issues in a credible manner on what is considered as prejudicial and what is not. How does one measure whether a particular statement is prejudicial to national security? It is very much related to the moral and ethical integrity of a statement. 

Yeoh’s statement should not be construed as a threat to any religion or government. It is in record that the opposition to child marriage has no ethnic or religious sentiment since it is opposed by all ethnic communities with good conscience. This is obvious from the support that Yeoh has received from all Malaysians.

It’s time justice is understood from a universal moral point of view instead of catering to the whims of vested interest. Justice is not relativistic. – June 22, 2020.

* Ronald Benjamin is Association for Community and Dialogue secretary.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.