Since independence Maylasia has been a single party state. Yes, they have elections but the United Mayla National Organization (UMO) has always been the governing party. Given its powerful status the UMO has always dealt harshly with its critics. Using the courts to insure its detractors are imprisoned for violating draconian national security laws and the Sedition Act which came into force towards the end of Britian's coloinal rule in 1948.
Zunar can only publish his work online because no newspaper in his country will dare to publish his work
Zunar is will go on trial not for his polictial cartoons but for a group of tweets which critized the Maylasian government. He isn't the only person or group to run afoul of the ruling party.
Zunar can only publish his work online because no newspaper in his country will dare to publish his work
Less than a year after the Charlie Hebdo murders led to worldwide protests for freedom of expression, a cartoonist in Malaysia is facing a possible 43 years in prison after being accused of “sedition”.Zulkiflee Sm Anwar Ulhaque, who draws under the name Zunar, has arrived in Britain to highlight his trial next month, in which he faces nine charges under a Sedition Act introduced to Malaysia by the colonial British government in 1948.
Zunar has angered the Malaysian authorities with cartoons suggesting that the judiciary is controlled by the government and that the country is run not by Prime Minister Najib Razak but by his wife Rosmah Mansor.
Cartoonists and other supporters will join him in a protest on Sunday that begins at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park.
Zunar is will go on trial not for his polictial cartoons but for a group of tweets which critized the Maylasian government. He isn't the only person or group to run afoul of the ruling party.
Revealing details of little-known cases, Human Rights Watch said the summit will present an opportunity for world leaders to press Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to reform draconian laws and end censorship.
Mr Najib, fighting for his political life over an alleged corruption scandal, promised to "uphold civil liberties" and "regard for the fundamental rights of the people" when he took office in 2009.
But Human Rights Watch said repression intensified after Mr Najib's long-ruling coalition lost the popular vote but managed to retain power because of a gerrymandered voting system in elections in 2013.
The organisation said the government's use of the criminal code to silence peaceful expression violates international legal standards.
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