SUARAM Press Statement

SUARAM Press Statement

31^st May 2010 (Monday)

Dear editor,

A call to MP Jeff Ooi to hold talks with the public

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) Penang Branch wish to reiterate our call for Jelutong MP cum PDC Telecommunications chairman Jeff Ooi to hold public consultations on the telco towers controversy.

In latest developments, Mr Ooi was today reported in the press (Oriental Daily and Sin Chew Daily) disagreeing with SUARAM Penang's earlier criticisms with regard to his suggestion that the Penang EMF Protection Alliance be investigated under the Sedition Act.

Instead of contributing anything substantive to the dialogue on the controversy surrounding safety standards of tower installations, Mr Ooi unfortunately chose to defend his Sedition Act suggestion as a personal opinion and that any appeal related to the said act is the Federal Government's responsibility.

SUARAM's record on draconian laws that violate basic human rights is clear for all, including Mr Ooi, to see. Our efforts in engaging and pressuring the Federal Government and its various agencies are well documented in the annual Malaysia: Human Rights Report. Our campaigns, both past and present, have called for the abolishment of laws are anti-democratic. We are against the usage of laws that allow for detention without trial (Internal Security Act, Emergency Ordinance), silence legitimate free speech (Sedition Act), stifle media freedom (Printing Presses and Publications Act), promote secrecy (Official Secrets Act), etc. As has been the trend, the application of such laws - at the absolute discretion of a government minister - has often been politically motivated.

As a distinguished pioneer of the blogging scene as well as a fierce advocate of free speech in Malaysia prior to his election to Parliament in 2008, Mr Ooi's response is therefore surprising and disappointing. Whilst he is free to speak his mind (whether in a personal capacity or not), we stress that any suggestion regarding the use of the Sedition Act is a form of intimidation more than anything else. What other purpose was there in Mr Ooi's suggestion, if not for intimidating those who had a different opinion than that of his?

Warm regards,

Ong Jing Cheng
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Penang Branch Coordinator,
63B-01-07, University Heights,
Jalan Sungai Dua,
11700 Penang.
Tel / Fax: 04-6582285
E-mail: suarampg@gmail.com
http://suarampg.blogspot.com/