By Ralvin Manikam

Eric Paulsen (right in pic) yesterday pleaded not guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to the charge under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act

The Malaysian government, once again, proved that it cannot part with the Sedition Act when yesterday it charged a lawyer for a tweet against a religious authority.

The lawyer in question is Eric Paulsen, who has been charged for sedition for his highly controversial tweet that read “The Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) is promoting extremism every Friday. The government should look into it if it was serious about eradicating extremism in Malaysia.”

His tweet was met with outrage by religious groups, who claimed that his tweet insulted Islam.

While a keen eye would tell you that it was a government body and not Islam that he was condemning in the tweet, the backlash seems to paint Malaysia as a third world country, where a discussion on criticism of religious ideas is restricted, unlike in countries where no idea is too sacred to be debated.

This restriction seems contrary to the front Malaysia puts up internationally (via the Global Movement of Moderates, for example) but actively tramples over dissent at home (via the Sedition Act).

The Jakim that Paulsen has unwittingly insulted is the same body that oversees other state Islamic groups, such as Jabatan Agama Islam Pulau Pinang (JAIPP) that stopped a Chinese funeral procession (claiming that the deceased was a Muslim), and Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Negeri Sembilan (JHEAINS) that thought it apt to raid a Malay wedding and arrest 17 of its transgender guests.

In the movie Wedding Crashers, Its lead star Owen Wilson goes from crashing a wedding to crashing a funeral (pic from cilisos.my)

It was this Jakim and its Friday sermons that Paulsen had asked to look into to eradicate extremism at home — one could say that his comments were not entirely unfounded, even.

However, the endorsement of blatantly racist statements seems to be the order of the day in the UMNO-led government of the day and our Prime Minister, Najib Razak.

This is because the sedition charge facing Paulsen comes at a time when Najib chooses to defend a statement by one of his UMNO Ministers, Ismail Sabri, who found himself in the spotlight for calling on Malays to boycott ‘stubborn’ Chinese traders.

His Facebook post said “The majority of consumers are Malay, Chinese are a minority. If the Malays boycott their businesses, they will surely have no choice but to reduce their prices.”

He added that until such time that the Malays decide to shun Chinese businesses, the Chinese would continue to oppress the Malays.

Ismail went one step further to also insinuate that some large chain restaurants were non-halal, and one popular chain was run by an “anti Islamic” DAP leader.

(pic of Ismail Sabri from Malaysiakini)

Despite being received with outcry from the public at large — not just Chinese — the post was defended by 92 UMNO division leaders who called the statement “noble” and deemed it worthy of support of all Malaysians. Najib, meanwhile said that Ismail’s call to boycott profiteering traders did not target any race in particular, and backed his ministers statement.

Contrast this with the treatment received by Paulsen over his tweet, where Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar himself condemned Paulsen over Twitter; Bukit Aman also sent 20 policemen to arrest Paulsen.

How would Paulsen and Ismail be treated under the National Harmony Bill?

This double-standard treatment throws in harsh reality the flaws of the Sedition Act.

While freedom of speech and expression is not absolute, the qualms opposition leaders, and activists have with the Sedition Act is that it is too vague, and room to prosecute is much greater than the proposed National Harmony Bill that is currently in limbo following the “strengthened Sedition Act”.

For instance in the Sedition Act, someone could be charged for using “seditious words”, which is a clear obstruction to free speech. Who exactly determines what is a seditious word or not?

Also, Section 4 of this pre-Merdeka Act states that any person who so much as attempts or conspires to do anything that is perceived to have a seditious tendency, shall be liable to a fine and a three-year jail term.

Compare this to the National Harmony Bill, which criminalises the dissemination of any propaganda or idea that propounds racial superiority or inferiority, including incitement to, or participation in, any form of racial violence.

This higher threshold of prosecution and its very specific burden of proof in the proposed Bill makes the use of the Sedition Act ever more repugnant.

PAS’s Mujahid Yusof Rawa, who is the chairperson of the National Unity Consultative Culture (NUCC) said that it is meant for specific hate crimes, and that it is not as vague as the Sedition Act.

Apart from criminalising genuine threats to harmony, he said, the bill would protect freedom of expression so that Malaysian do not have to live in fear about what they say.

“This (new bill) has a higher threshold of prosecution, there must be intent to incite racial or religious hatred, and there must be intent for violence. It is not easy to charge (an individual under this bill),” Mujahid was reported as saying in an interview with Malaysiakini.

Incidents such as a cow’s head being thrown in front of a DAP assemblyperson’s house, who is a Hindu, and the pig’s heads found in the mosques would be punishable under the new law, he said.

The shelving of this Bill translates to a worrying trend of the government choosing such a poorly-constructed, broad-sweeping over a far more suitable alternative in order to show one thing: That it can wield power and the law however it pleases.

Followers of the Goebbels propaganda?

This trend of strong-armed use of power is akin to what DAP lawmaker Tony Pua says is the Goebbels propaganda.

The DAP MP for Petaling Jaya Utara believes it has to do with a certain school of propaganda by Nazi Joseph Goebbels (appointed as Hitler’s Propaganda Minister) back in 1933.

Pua quoted Goebbels who said, “if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself”, and whose dictum the Barisan Nasional and its ministers seem to emulate.

“That 1MDB guy could be right.”

Before the second world war, Goebbels had organised actions against German Jews, commencing with a one-day boycott of Jewish businessmen, doctors and lawyers. It is believed that this had set the stage for the Nazi burning of Jewish places of worship, desecrating Jews businesses, and the assault and slaughter of many Jews.

In the case of UMNO’s Barisan Nasional, the recurring theme of their propaganda is that “Malays are beggars in their own land” and that the Chinese would continue to oppress the Malays.

To make truth out of lies, Goebbler said, it “becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

It is hard not to draw parallels to Goebbler’s school of propaganda, as the most effective tool to repress dissent is the Sedition Act, which the government has decided to retain – a full U-turn from its earlier pledge to repeal the Act.

It is why Seputeh MP Teresa was targeted for something as trivial as a satirical Chinese New Year Youtube video last year. She was hurled every possible accusation, from being anti-Malay, anti-Islam, and anti-Royalty for a video that poked fun at Malaysian politicians.

In our country, where genuine insinuations against race are endorsed by the federal government that prefers criminalising those who criticise government organisations, Malaysians can rest assure that there will be no end to this charade as long as Barisan Nasional is in power. But as long as they remain in power, how far will they go with this? And to what end?

-The Rocket