The DAP’s Lim Kit Siang called the national police chief’s bluff today, saying retired senior judge Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah and former education director-general Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad would have been arrested, questioned and charged with sedition if Bukit Aman were fully independent.
Highlighting the speedy arrest and prosecution of three opposition politicians and two other anti-government activists today, the Gelang Patah MP demanded Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar explain his men’s delay in acting against Mohamad Noor and Abdul Rahman who have been widely-panned for allegedly making racist and seditious remarks recently against the Chinese and Indian communities.
“Can IGP explain police double-standards in not enforcing the law against former Appeal Court judge and former Education Director-General despite their offences of sedition?” Lim (picture) asked in a statement
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“If we have a police force which is ‘fair and unbiased’ and which enforces the law without fear or favour, both Mohd Noor and Abdul Rahman would have been questioned by the police, arrested and charged in court for under the Sedition Act,” he added.
Mohd Noor, a former Court of Appeal judge, was accused by the opposition of racism following his May 12 remarks at a university forum where he reportedly warned the Chinese to prepare for a backlash from the Malays for their alleged “betrayal” against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in Election 2013.
Abdul Rahman, who is now the pro-Chancellor Of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), had allegedly blamed vernacular schools as being the barrier towards racial unity in the country, and causing increasing racial polarisation that led to BN losing the popular vote to PR.
The 13-party BN scored just under 47 per cent of the popular vote compared to PR’s 51 per cent, but swept 133 seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat that enabled it to form the federal government by a simple majority.
The DAP-PKR-PAS alliance has accused the Election Commission of electoral fraud to aid the BN keep its power and has held a series of mammoth rallies around the country to protest their loss at the ballot box since, leading to the arrest of a number of opposition politicians and civil activists in an apparent crackdown against dissent.
PKR’s MP for Batu, Chua Tian Chang, PAS politician Tamrin Ghafar and Anything But Umno (ABU) chief Haris Ibrahim were rearrested by the police last night and charged today with sedition alongside student activist Safwan Anang and activist Hishamuddin Rais.
Chua, Tamrin and Haris, who were arrested last week over their remarks during a May 13 forum, had been released after the police failed to secure a remand order.
“Was the police ever given directives, directly or indirectly, by the top government and political leadership not to ‘touch’ the former Court of Appeal judge and the former Education Director-General despite their blatant and flagrant crimes of sedition?” Lim asked.
He said that Malaysians wanted a police force that is efficient, professional, impartial, incorruptible and world-class whose first duty is to keep down the incidence of crime to make citizens, tourists and investors safe from crime and not one whose top priority was to the Umno-BN leadership.
Faced with criticism, Khalid who took over Tan Sri Ismail Omar as IGP on May 18, has denied the police is a pro-government agency.
“PDRM has never favoured or been pro-anyone. The police is a body that only enforces laws that are issued and take action on those trying to create tension.
“If we don’t act, our country may face a public peace crisis and place Malaysia as a country that is unsafe to reside in. No matter who and which individual that breaks the rules, we will arrest,” he told Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia in an interview published on May 26.
