Putrajaya had misused three laws, the Sedition Act 1948, Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, during the May 5 general election for selective prosecution and punishment, according to regional human rights group Forum Asia.
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia) said in its preliminary report that the laws were technical and hard to understand for the purpose of prosecution and punishment.
"We raised our concerns against these problematic laws which gives the power to the government to carry out selective prosecution and punishment, towards certain individuals.
"The government's promise to carry out reforms runs contrary to what they are doing," Forum Asia representative Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
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"The government's promise to carry out reforms runs contrary to what they are doing," Forum Asia representative Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
The preliminary findings of the forum, found that the government used the three acts for the purpose of pressuring parties that had differing views from them.
"The government used the laws as a tool to suppress the right to freedom of speech during GE13.
"The arrests of activists and leaders of opposition parties continued even after allegations of election fraud in the recent polls," said Joses Kuan, another representative of the forum.
The government's actions were seen as clamping down on the people's right to assemble freely and their right to freedom of speech, which is the right of every citizen, said Seoul National University law professor Kyong Whan Ahn. - July 26 2013.
