BERSIH 2.0 chairman Thomas Fann will be investigated under the Peaceful Assembly Act over a Facebook post urging people to protest the change of government in February. 

Bersih in a statement said Fann is to present himself for questioning at the Dang Wangi police headquarters tomorrow at 11am.

The post in question was made on Bersih’s official Facebook page on February 29, urging Malaysians who were against the change of government through plotting and defections to attend a rally.

“(The post urged) citizens unhappy with the betrayal of the people’s mandate brought about by the ‘Sheraton Move’ to attend a protest called ‘Turun Ke Jalan: Demokrasi Mati’ at Dataran Merdeka that night,” Bersih said in a statement today.

Bersih said it regrets that the new Perikatan Nasional (PN) government under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had brought back “the era of political intimidation and silencing of dissent that was so common under Barisan Nasional (BN)”.

“(This era) seems to have returned in full force.”

The elections reform watchdog also cited other similar intimidation by the authorities on critics, such as police questioning of C4 Centre’s director Cynthia Gabriel for a press statement she issued.

Other cases include Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh over a Twitter post, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman for his TV interview on Al Jazeera, activist Siti Kasim for a Facebook post and journalist Tashny Sukumaran for reporting the crackdown on undocumented migrants during the movement-control order.

Former radio DJ Patrick Teoh was also charged under the Communication and Multimedia Act for allegedly insulting the Johor Crown Prince in a Facebook post, while news portal Malaysiakini is facing a contempt hearing over readers’ comments.

Book publisher Gerakbudaya is also facing police action over a book of political essays with a cover bearing an artistic rendition of the country’s coat of arms, which some quarters have deemed insulting. – July 6, 2020.