Sedition for this... a must

Scathing attack on Chief Justice over remarks on Pakistanis: Ex-MP comes under fire Published on: Monday, March 30, 2015 http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=98480 Kota Kinabalu: Former Member of Parliament Datuk Akbar Khan Abdulrahman has come under fire for his scathing attack on the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum over the latter's statement asking the authority to check the documents of every Pakistani in Sabah. "The attack by Akbar on the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak is uncalled for and is tantamount to an attack on the judiciary in carrying out their judicial and constitutional duty," said Sabah Reform Movement Chief Datuk Wilfred Bumburing. He said Malanjum's remarks reflected the long-standing sentiment of the genuine people of Sabah. "For so long the State of Sabah has been flooded with people from Pakistan. It's a common site in the rural areas where these people are going around selling textiles, initially on their motorcycles and later driving cars. "A lot of them are later known to flash their 'fresh-from-the-oven' Malaysian Identity Cards (ICs)," he said here, Sunday, adding that constant unanswered questions from the locals were how did these foreigners get their trading licences and eventually ICs. "I welcome the remarks by Malanjum as it struck the nail right on its head in as far as this issue is concerned," said Bumburing, who is also Tamparuli Assemblyman. On Akbar's remarks citing Malanjum as being racist, Bumburing said: "I would say that Akbar should be smart enough to understand that what the Chief Justice meant is not directed at any race including those of Pakistani decent. "Malanjum clearly referred only to the Pakistani nationals who came to Sabah so easily and in growing numbers in recent years. It is not about race but foreigners who flooded the State," he said. Bumburing said the Royal Commission of Inquiry showed the culmination of Sabahan's utter disgust on illegal immigrants in Sabah. Illegal immigrants in Sabah were made up of many nationalities – Filipinos, Indonesians, Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese and others. Of course at the time of independence of Sabah on the Aug 31, 1963, the population of Sabah was multiracial which included those of non-Sabahan origin such as Chinese, Europeans, Australians, Indonesians, Filipinos, Indians, Pakistanis, Malays from Malaya and many others. In the independence agreement those who resided in Sabah prior to the independence date have the right to choose to be citizens of the newly born nation state of Sabah. Subsequently, the children of these people are Sabahan in all their rights and nobody can question them. "In as far as I am concerned, though there are not native to Sabah, I consider them 'orang asal' Sabah. "I reject the call of the Umno leaders in Malaya which brand them as 'pendatang'. They are different from the illegal immigrants who flooded Sabah in recent years, thanks to the 'courtesy' of the Government," said Bumburing. To solve the illegal immigrants problem, Bumburing welcomed the call by Malanjum for comprehensive checks to be done on illegal immigrants, not only those from Pakistan but from other countries. Therefore, he said, the call by Akbar Khan for the Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak to apologise was utterly unwarranted. "Akbar said he is a loyal Malaysian citizen and being a Sabahan he should fight for the sovereignty of Sabah," he said, adding that genuine Sabahans have for so long demanded for action to be taken on the illegal immigrant issue. "Now a Chief Justice has called on the Government to act and his directive must not be swept under the carpet. "The arrest and conviction of the eight immigration officers is only the tip of the iceberg. The revelation on the existence of false ICS in Keningau tells tales. "I was informed about a report in the social media that a rented house in Tuaran had been used to issue false birth certificates and ICs. "I believe that if all the foreigners who possess fake ICs and birth certificates in Sabah are apprehended, the whole prisons facilities in Malaysia will not be sufficient to house them," he said. Meanwhile, Penampang MP Darrel Leiking said he supported the freedom of speech and expression as long as it was not malicious and defamatory in nature. However, of late, the Sedition Act has been abused to curtail even a simple opinion and one which has no malicious intent. The arrest of cartoonist Zunar and Datuk Anwar Ibrahim's lawyer N Surendran for opining on the judiciary and the likely detention or questioning of Christopher Leong for the same and many others to have all been linked to an alleged act of sedition. He believed that it was Akbar Khan's prerogative as a citizen to make a fair opinion and hence, "this is why we have always uphold the freedom of expression albeit the authorities have taken a differing opinion." But, on the other hand, Akbar Khan may have misunderstood on what Malanjum had opined in. "In my opinion, Akbar Khan had gone overboard in his explanation and demands over the remarks by a judge during a court proceeding and which remarks resonate the people's feeling today in Sabah. But then again it is his (Akbar Khan) right to opine," he said. "However, and in light of circumstances lately in the Federation of Malaysia, I now challenge the police to investigate if the remarks or front page outrage by Datuk Akbar Khan over Tan Sri Richard Malanjum falls on the same so-called 'seditious' remarks as were Zunar, N. Surendran, Chris Leong and many others since these guys were hauled up by the police and are charged for questioning the judiciary/judges as well and the police had acted on them as they were deemed seditious by the police. "I am all for freedom of expression and the rights to an opinion but would the same initiative for investigative standards apply to Datuk Akbar Khan considering his statement today (Sunday)?" he asked. "Or would the IGP want to wait for a police report before investigating, detain and question Akbar Khan? Would the police be applying the same standards done against Zunar, N. Surendran and others or is there a different standard applicable?" he asked. Akbar Khan, in demanding for an apology from Malanjum, also accused him of being a racist. If he refused to apologise, Akbar Khan said Malanjum should resign "to save the judiciary from further contempt and ridicule.