A link shared at J.I.M
Facebook Page on August 14, 2014 at 07:42PM via
IFTTT:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/271640
MCA: Police probe into sedition case of teen is ridiculous
http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/08/14/mca-police-probe-sedition-case-teen-ridiculous/
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14, 2014:
MCA has criticised the Penang police over its unnecessary investigation into a case involving a Form Five student under the Sedition Act.
Calling it totally ridiculous, the party’s Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Datuk Ti Lian Ker said the public expected the police to investigate the teachers involved in publicising the incident for inciting physical violence against the student as this could have led to murder, disfigurement and injuries.
“While the bureau notes that the Penang Education Department has taken measures to give a warning to the teachers who had implored that the teenager, who had accidentally clicked ‘like’ on the ‘I love Israel’ Facebook page, be burnt alive, we are taken aback that police have questioned the student under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Sedition Act.
“This investigation is totally ridiculous, more so coming from the police in Penang, which has a Jewish cemetery believed to be the oldest in Asia. It will further erode the image of the authorities among the public,” he said in a statement today.
Ti said that the sedition probe against the 17-year-old begs the question if any entity, be it tangible or intangible with the word “Israel” in it, will be deemed seditious.
“For example, will those, including children carollers, singing the chorus for the Christmas carol The First Noel, which ends with Born is the King of Israel, also be subject to questioning under the Sedition Act?
“Will radio and television channels broadcasting The First Noel in its programmes or movie channels also be probed for sedition?”
Ti said such action by the police against a top scholar only added to the victimisation of the student and the perception, whether real or imagined, by non-Muslims regarding selective persecution of religious minorities.
He also expressed concern over the earlier report by The Rakyat Post where schoolmates of the teenager were reported to be bullying and spitting at him in school while another student was beaten up over a mistaken identity.
“MCA’s fears that the teachers’ call to burn the boy will lead to victimisation appear to be coming true.”
He said the authorities should instead focus on never instigating violence and harassment.
He said while MCA wholeheartedly opposed the atrocities committed by the Zionist regime against Palestinian Muslims and Christians on the Gaza Strip, it urged the authorities and educators to practise common sense and not misuse the boycott call against McDonald’s and Starbucks and resort to vigilantism..
The Aug 10 incident led a teacher to screen capture and upload the image depicting the boy’s liking of an “I love Israel” page without the boy’s consent.
Two other teachers commented, calling for a boycott over the student, with one suggesting to burn the boy alive.
Penang teen who ‘liked’ ‘I love Israel’ Facebook page under sedition probe
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/penang-teen-who-liked-i-love-israel-facebook-page-under-sedition-probe
NIBONG TEBAL, Aug 13 — A Form Five student who was threatened with immolation for allegedly liking an “I love Israel” Facebook page is now under investigation for sedition.
The 17-year-old who sought police aid two days ago was called in for questioning today by the South Seberang Perai police.
“We are investigating him under Section 4 (1) (a) of the Sedition Act,” Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi told reporters at the South Seberang Perai district police headquarters Hari Raya open house here.
“In his statement, he claimed that he had accidentally clicked ‘like’ on the page,” he said, referring to the teen’s recorded statement.
Abdul Rahim added that the police had questioned yesterday a teacher from the same school as the student who had allegedly linked the teen to the “I love Israel” Facebook page.
The sedition law prescribes a maximum fine of RM5,000 or a jail sentence of three years for a convicted first-time offender, or both, and raises the jail term to five years for subsequent offences.
The fifth former filed a police report after a teacher from his school allegedly circulated a screen captured image of the controversial post, which prompted attacks from other Facebook users to cut off ties with the student and to “boycott”.
Another teacher purportedly from the same school, went a step further, leaving on the first teacher’s Facebook page that is accessible only to friends a message that read: “Kita bakor je hahaha [We just burn hahaha]”.
South Seberang Perai district police chief ACP Shafein Mamat said more teachers and students from the boy’s school will be called to give their statements.
“We are investigating both aspects, one of him liking the controversial page and another on the threats against him,” Shafein said.
The student has since deactivated his Facebook account.
.JPG)
