Cops release student activists nabbed over Sabah anti-graft rally
The trio - Fadhil Kasim, Aliff Danial Badrul Akmal Hisham, and Sabir Syarafuddin - walked out of the Kota Kinabalu district police headquarters about 7.50pm.
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Malaysiakini
16-07-2025
- Malaysiakini
Youth group slams probe on student leader over anti-graft rally
Youth group Mandiri criticised the police for investigating a student activist who took part in an anti-corruption rally last month. Mandiri coordinator Hamdin Nordin said the group stands in solidarity with Alyaah Hani, who has been summoned under Section 509 of the Penal Code over the 'Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0' protest. The section, which criminalises...
The Star
13-07-2025
- The Star
Youth Pulse: Hear the voice, not the din
MY FIRST foray into activism was buoyed by the excitement of the lowering of the voting age back in 2019. Even then, I had heard my share of how youths carried an irreplaceable, insatiable and often unrealistic desire for change. I have come to believe this opinion stems from a comparison to older frontrunners who may have already secured their positions or wealth within a country's system, becoming more desensitised or resigned to systemic issues. Unlike them, we youths are seen to carry fewer vested interests. For that reason, they are often more willing to question social problems and systemic injustice with boldness and idealism. This boldness neither means the youth are always right nor does it imply that older people lack conscience. But because young people are more willing to take risks for their ideals, to speak out against injustice, they remind society that maintaining 'stability' must not come at the cost of neglecting justice. Recently, a student activist group in Kota Kinabalu organised a protest branded Gempur Rasuah Sabah 2.0. Towards the end of the rally, it was reported that the students burned a caricature of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, expressing their frustration with his apparent indifference to the issue of corruption in the Sabah government. It is worth noting that after the burning, the protesters also cleaned up the site. It was hardly surprising that a wave of criticism followed once the news broke. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) issued a statement condemning the act as crude and immature. The PKR Youth Wing rushed to the prime minister's defence, calling the protestors disrespectful and excessive. Other parties and groups also criticised the act as reckless, violent and extreme. One cannot help but ask: why is there such a strong reaction to the students' action, yet near-complete silence on the corruption issues and demands raised by the protestors? Who, really, deserves greater criticism: those who protest, or those being protested? What the students did is undoubtedly a provocative act, symbolising deep disillusionment and anger towards the current administration. Some may argue that this anger is misplaced, noting that Anwar has consistently emphasised the importance of allowing due legal process to take its course in the Sabah graft cases. It is also disingenuous to cite that the PM has turned his back on his activism roots, as he had called for UMS to not expel the students involved. But should the protesters' motivations and demands be dismissed simply because their method of protest was deemed 'too intense'? Truthfully speaking, this administration faces numerous legitimate public questions that remain unanswered, along with decisions that appear to contradict the reformist platform it once championed. It would be almost understandable for young people to feel that he has not fulfilled his reform promises. Their hope has gradually turned to disappointment and now to anger. Their act is an outcry against a broken system. In fact, the protest's core demands, recently echoed by civil society groups like the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, are anything but extreme. The students called for legal action against the Sabah State Water Department over campus shortages, greater institutional independence for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, stronger anti-corruption laws and the rejection of Tun Musa Aman's appointment as the 11th Yang Dipertua Negeri of Sabah. Instead of engaging these demands, the response from authorities has centred on the protest's form, not its content. A police investigation is now underway, citing nine offences under laws such as the Peaceful Assembly Act and the Sedition Act. Meanwhile, student activists are being lectured about using 'proper channels', a familiar refrain used frequently to quell dissatisfaction. This incident raises two ideas worth exploring: first, what truly constitutes a 'proper' protest in Malaysia; and second, how society's response to protest reflects the state of democratic space in the country. The implicit belief long-held by our society is that protests must be polite and procedural to be legitimate. Yet, this view ignores the very function of protest in a democratic society which is to challenge power and force engagement with uncomfortable truths. Malaysia's own history tells this story. From the university student demonstrations in the early 1970s against rural poverty to Reformasi rallies and the Bersih electoral reform marches, protests have rarely been tidy or fully sanctioned. This is not to suggest that all forms of protest should be celebrated without scrutiny, but it does compel us to reconsider how we judge them. The current response shows that we risk mistaking offence for injustice and symbols for substance. In a functioning democracy, the legitimacy of protest must be assessed not solely by its form, but by the validity of the message it carries. The second point concerns how we, as a society, respond when dissent takes on an uncomfortable tone. The language used such as calling students 'rude,' 'immature,' or 'disrespectful' mirrors a paternalism that has long characterised state-society relations in Malaysia. But this approach fails to reckon with the shifting expectations of a younger, more politically conscious generation. Rather than viewing protest as a disruption to be contained, we ought to recognise it as a reflection of civic energy and a sign that people still care enough to speak up even when disillusioned. While we can consider if protesters stayed within the bounds of respectability, we must not lose sight of holding those in power accountable for the promises and principles that earned them public trust. That said, I firmly believe that protests are not the antidote to all our country's problems. Change also requires constant education of the broader public and proactive engagement with institutions. Moving further, I hope to see the students who protested engage in other methods and demonstrate commitment to the anti-corruption cause, be it through roundtable dialogues, social media advocacy, or other creative means. Ultimately, the question we should be asking is not, 'Was burning the Prime Minister's caricature too disrespectful?' but rather, 'What has led to such deep public frustration, especially among the young?' A deep breach of public trust occurs when those in power remain deaf to the people's grievances and that deserves far more scrutiny. Student Jonathan Lee traces his writing roots to The Star's BRATs programme. He is now a Malaysian youth advocate. The views expressed here are solely the writer's own.
Malay Mail
01-07-2025
- Malay Mail
Suaram urges Putrajaya, police to embrace Federal Court ruling on Peaceful Assembly Act
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1— The Federal Court's decision to strike down a controversial section of the Peaceful Assembly Act offers the Malaysian government a critical chance to reaffirm its democratic commitments, said rights group Suaram today. The apex court ruled that Section 9(5), which penalised organisers for failing to give prior notice of assemblies, violates constitutional protections under Article 10(1)(b). Suaram said the ruling challenges years of repressive enforcement and state overreach that treated peaceful protests as criminal acts. It noted that the clause had been used as a political tool, with cases like Fadhil Kasim's highlighting how it was deployed to stifle dissent. The group said the court's decision obliges the state to actively support, rather than obstruct, citizens exercising their right to protest. 'To this end, we call on the government to honour this landmark decision by immediately imposing a moratorium on the use of Section 9(5) and ensuring its full repeal in the upcoming PAA amendments slated for October this year,' it said in a statement. It further urged Parliament to take this opportunity to strengthen participatory democracy by embedding protections for urgent and spontaneous assemblies into law. The group also pushed for the police to incorporate new, rights-based protocols into their training programmes, as previously agreed with Suhakam. Suaram reminded authorities that Malaysia had accepted international recommendations to improve assembly rights during its last Universal Periodic Review. This morning, a five-judge panel at the Federal Court unanimously ruled the provision requiring five days' notice to the police prior to public rallies to be unconstitutional.
