Lfl Chides Igp For Saying Ratu Naga Was Uncooperative In Probe

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Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has taken issue with Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain who claimed that political activist Syarul Ema, widely known as Ratu Naga, was “uncooperative” with the police when her statement was taken over an alleged insult to the prime minister’s wife.
In a statement today, LFL director Zaid Malek claimed that it was ironic that the IGP himself was uttering potentially slanderous statements in the investigation into criminal defamation allegedly committed by Syarul Ema (above, right), who is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
He said that Syarul Ema had the right to remain silent and had presented herself to Bukit Aman Police Headquarters yesterday as requested. 
“It is blatantly false for the IGP to say that Ema has not cooperated with the police by not answering the questions that were posed to her when her statement was taken. 
“Syarul Ema has shown full regard for the legal process by promptly attending the police station to give her statement when called upon.
“Contrary to the claims of the IGP, there was no legal obligation for Syarul Ema to answer police questions in this misconceived investigation.
“The right to remain silent during police interrogation is the cornerstone of our criminal justice system, codified under Section 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“Section 112(2) clearly states that any person can exercise their right to remain silent to any questions that may expose them to a criminal charge,” said Zaid.
He said that the IGP could not claim to be ignorant of the legislation. 
“If he truly is, then he is not fit to hold the position of IGP.
“The fact that the IGP himself deemed it worthy of his time to comment on such an inane and farcical investigation is highly embarrassing,” he added, calling the probe an utter waste of public resources.
“It is a clear abuse of power for the police force to be used to investigate or harass anyone who criticises the PM’s wife. If she is aggrieved, then she is free to file a defamation suit in the civil courts, like all other Malaysians,” said Zaid.
Photo with Netanyahu’s wife
The investigation centres on a post showcasing the wife of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in a picture with the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among others.
The post is completely unrelated to Malaysia’s position on Israel, and was in fact, a photograph of a reception by US First Lady Jill Biden for spouses of world leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting last month.
This was also stated clearly in Netanyahu’s post, which was actually to thank his wife Sarah for representing Israel at the reception.
Dr Wan Azizah Wan IsmailAlthough the post was made in Hebrew, Instagram provides an option to translate posts into English.
“During the special event, the wife of Prime Minister Netanyahu met with the wives of many leaders, among them the wife of the president of Turkiye, Amina Erdogan,” an excerpt of the translation of the caption reads.
Personalities such as Bersatu man Badrul Hisham Shaharin (Chegubard) and Syarul Ema used the same screenshot.
“Mesyuarat PIBG kot (Maybe it's a parent-teacher association meeting),” Syarul Ema quipped in the post on X (formerly known as Twitter), which has been viewed more than a million times.
Zaid said that the full might of the police is being used to clamp down on social media users for any criticism or disaffection against those in the government or those married to them, which is tyrannical and contrary to a healthy democracy. 
“This is no different from what happened under the Najib Abdul Razak regime, which was criticised vociferously by Pakatan Harapan leaders then.
“The Harapan-led government has with every passing day forgotten their promises of reform to the public as they now have no qualms in utilising the same laws that they were once victims to,” he added. - Mkini

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