Government prosecutors charged a senior Malaysian opposition politician with defamation yesterday after he made a speech that allegedly slandered police officers killed in a colonial-era communist insurgency.
The charge sparked opposition accusations that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration remains determined to prosecute its political rivals, despite Najib’s recent pledge to abandon the use of harsh security laws.
Mohamad Sabu, deputy president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, pleaded innocent at a district court in northern Penang state to a charge of criminal defamation in connection with a speech he made at a political rally last month.
Officials claim that he praised communist guerrillas who killed 25 officers in an attack on a police station in 1950.
Mohamad Sabu insists his remarks were distorted by a newspaper owned by the ruling party. His alleged comments drew condemnation from government leaders and police officials, who accused Mohamad Sabu of insulting security personnel who sacrificed their lives during a failed communist insurgency that began in 1948 and persisted after the country achieved independence from Britain in 1957.
Mohamad Sabu faces up to two years in prison and a fine if convicted. The court scheduled a trial hearing for December.
Opposition leaders claimed the case proved that even though Najib has pledged to soon repeal security laws used in the past to imprison activists without trial, the government could still use other laws against its critics.
Mohamad Sabu’s prosecution “confirms the people’s fears that the prime minister’s promises cannot be trusted,” the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party’s information chief, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, said in a statement.
Government leaders have denied unfairly targeting Mohamad Sabu. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said last week that the opposition politician had made offensive statements that “can create trouble in the country.”
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