Monday, October 8, 2012
Political Smearing Campaign on SUARAM
-The Government is trying to demonize SUARAM after they have opened
a can of worms which originates from BN-
Political activist Wong Chin Huat said that the
government just wants to smear the Non-governmental organizations (NGO) which
are perceived to be pro-opposition. This was a comment made to the case of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri
Ismail Sabri Yaakob wanting to press charges
against SUARAM for its
‘misleading accounts’.
However Mustafa K. Anuar, secretary of Aliran
said that there is no law prohibiting NGOs from receiving funds from foreign
sources. He added that if SUARAM was charged, ‘NGOs like CAP (ConsumerAssociation of Penang) and others would have found themselves in trouble.’
‘It’s
merely a political issue’ says Chin Huat.
‘I believe Suaram's recent activities in
bringing the case to the French court is seen as something that is too close to
home for PM Najib and his supporters.’, says Mustafa ‘What they (the
government) have done is really employing a sledgehammer to kill an ant.’
Reported by: Melvin Shawn D'Silva
Labels: Journalism, SUARAM
posted @ 10:05 PM |
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
114A: Guilty. Until proven Innocent
-The amendment of 114A of Evidence Act may potentially hold presumption towards innocent people.-
‘Any owner of a website, host or administrator can be potentially held liable for any content published.’
(Simple demonstration on how people would be affected by this amendment if content published was charged)
Innocent parties will be presumed guilty – even if their account was being heck – until proven innocent.
(Some profile may be frapped or hecked by other people)
However Mohammed Nazri, minister in the Prime Minister’s office state that this law stays as it was ‘necessary for the country's security’; this was said a day after the Internet BlackoutDay.
‘It (the amendment) was packaged as a form to combat terrorism, or security threads.’ Says Syahredzan Johan, Chairperson of the Malaysian Bar Council’s Constitutional Law Committee. ‘Why [sic] can it not be narrowed down to terrorist or security offences?’ To him, based on the actual words of the amendment, it is inconsistent with the justification provided.
‘Nazri assures Malaysians the government won't abuse the law. But that's what they said about the ISA in 1960, didnt they?’ said Anil Netto, Blogger and Treasurer of Aliran.
Reported by: Melvin Shawn D'Silva
Labels: Amendment 114A, Journalism
posted @ 12:37 AM |