Ex Student Activist Probed For Sedition Against The King

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Former Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth leader Liew Liang Hong was quizzed for two hours in Bukit Aman today.
According to Liew, he was being quizzed on his Facebook posting, in which he shared an article on Nov 26 titled "YPDA praises MP - passed the budget in unison to ensure the welfare of the people" with some personal commentary in Chinese.
"The truth is, my post has no seditious intent. I merely strung a few words to express my views. 
"However, the repressive Sedition Act 1948 and Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 have allowed the government to abuse the law to interpret my words at will.
"I will be convicted as long as the state perceives my choice of words have seditious intent, even though that was never my purpose to do so," Liew said in a statement.
He believes that the investigations against him are part of a witchhunt against Umany affiliates and an attempt to suppress freedom of expression.
"Unfortunately, I'm not the only one silenced by the state. An Amnesty International Malaysia article last month pointed out a worrying increase of state censorship.
"In the first half of 2020, the government had initiated 262 sedition investigations and 143 investigations under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
"I am simply part of that statistic… it shows how audacious this government is in attempting to suppress the freedom of speech," he said.
Liew's lawyer Kuhan Manokaran told Malaysiakini that the police confiscated his client's mobile phone and compelled Liew to surrender his Facebook password.
Kuhan said the police acted professionally, but he questioned why the authorities have yet to act against rape and death threats against Umany activists. - Mkini

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