Cybertroopers and late-night arrests: Madani's media mayhem

The Madani government is making a mockery of the law. No one is safe.

Consider the case of Muhammad Kamil Puteh, a TikToker not affiliated with any political party, but a Malaysian who uses social media to rant against government policies and issues.

The police banged on his door, arrested him at 3am, and sought a remand order to investigate him under the Sedition Act, the Penal Code, and the Communications and Multimedia Act.

All Kamil did was question the speed at which the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission cleared the prime minister of allegations that he has 20 bank accounts, including in Israel.

The indiscriminate use of sedition laws flies in the face of the so-called reform promises that brought the prime minister and his party to Putrajaya.

Nearly three years into the Madani administration, the promise to abolish draconian laws remains unfulfilled. Instead, these laws are unleashed upon government critics.

Even Malaysiakini is not spared. Within hours of publishing an investigative piece pointing out that 263 Facebook accounts have been actively dishing out false support or narratives for the prime minister, the news portal's Facebook account was suspended.

The Prime Minister's Office has denied any knowledge of the suspension. How convenient.

The muzzling of critics is not confined to our shores. A case in point is Murray Hunter, the seasoned journalist and commentator on Malaysian politics. He was apprehended at a Bangkok airport, rushed to a Thai court, and had his passport impounded.

Hunter is being investigated for criminal defamation for writing about the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), corruption, and Malaysian politics. Lawyers for MCMC are scheduled to appear in Thai courts on Nov 17.

According to Asia Sentinel, Hunter's arrest was at Malaysia's request. If true, the irony is that Anwar, as the prime minister of Malaysia and chairman of Asean, has been talking about Asean championing democracy and free speech.

Within the space of three days, we have seen a clampdown of unprecedented scale, suppression of free speech, and obstruction of media and press freedom.

One recalls that Anwar's fight with Dr Mahathir Mohamad was marked by him calling the senior statesman a dictator.

Today, Anwar seems worse — a kakistocratic dictator who is hell-bent to have praise showered upon him.

No one is safe. Just ask Kamil, Malaysiakini, and Murray Hunter. It's time to remove the rot in Putrajaya.

Rafique Rashid is a lawyer.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.