-M. Kulasegaran, MP.,  December 19, 2013.

Last Saturday in Kulim, Kedah, a gathering was held apparently to mark Tamil Tigers Chief V. Prabhakaran’s birthday. It is shocking to learn that the police have arrested one man on Monday and will be arresting more people to be investigated under Section 4(1) (a) of the Sedition Act.

I had raised this issue in Parliament in 2004 and the Government categorically stated that LTTE was not a banned organization.

To celebrate the birthdays of world leaders and some who were alleged to be terrorist has been an ongoing thing in our country. We used to celebrate Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Subas Chandra Bose and many other world leaders birthdays. Will such celebration now be considered as an offence under the Sedition Act?

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar is reported to have said, “What has this terrorist got to do with our country? Why try to invite people to glorify a terrorist?

I am puzzled by his remarks.

May be the IGP has been wrongly advised and does not comprehend the meaning of freedom fighters. In the case of Prabhakaran, he was agitating for self determination of his people in the east of Sri Lanka due to discrimination, killings and disappearance of his people.

Is the IGP aware on the alleged war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity committed by the Sri Lanka government during the Sri Lanka civil war?

80, 000 innocent people were killed primarily because they were Tamils.  Are we to condone the gross abuse of human rights when Sri Lanka government has been openly rebuked by many countries on this issue?

In fact, the last two years saw adoption of resolutions against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council where Malaysia is a member.

When the “No Fire Zone” documentary was screened in the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH)in July this year, the organizers were arrested and charged.

It is a known fact that the Sri Lankan embassy had written and met the KLSCAH to demand the cancellation of the screening a day before the event.

Although this matter has been openly stated yet the Sri Lankan embassy has not denied this averment. Is the Sri Lankan embassy the Black Hand in the recent Kulim arrest?

Still Not a Matured Democracy!

I had met Chin Peng, the former Malayan Communist Party leader in Bangkok when he was alive and had widely spoken about him in Parliament. Does this make me a candidate to be arrested under the Sedition Act?

For a start, this Act has out lived its usefulness and Prime Minister  Najib himself has openly said that it ought to be repealed but which he has not done so. The Act curtails freedom of speech and expression and ought not to be relied on by the authorities.

Such unnecessary arrest must be raised in the next Cabinet meeting. Would at least the two MIC Indian Ministers raise this matter?

We need more open democratic space. Discussions of sensitive issues should not be curtailed and swept under the carpet. Don’t be repressive and put fear on civilians. Why are we still not a matured democracy, 56 years after having achieved Independence? The last thing we require is the unnecessary “safety net” from the Police.