Man Arrested for Slander After Pro-Communist Comments

The Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) arrested Mohamad Sabu last week on charges of criminal slander for pro-communist comments he made in August. The comments allegedly praised 180 members of the Malayan Communist Party who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950 and killed 25 officers who were members of the Federation of Malaya Police now known as the Royal Malaysia Police. The attack was part of a failed communist insurgency against the British and the loyalist colonial government.

Sabu is the leader of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party also known as the PAS. The PAS is the main opposition party to Prime Minister Najib Razak. Sabu claims that his arrest is politically motivated and suspects that the Prime Minster might be behind the charges he is currently facing. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison.

Malaysia is weird country when it comes to free speech laws. You can basically say whatever you want for the most part unless you criticize the government in which case you might be found in violation of the Sedition Act. In this case he is being charged with criminal slander for supposedly questioning the patriotism of the officers attacked by the communists that day over 61 years ago.