PRIME MINISTER MUST STAND BY HIS WORDS AND RELEASE THE EO 6 IMMEDIATELY

I call on the Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak to immediately release the EO 6:-

1) Dr Jeyakumar Michael Devaraj Member of Parliament for Sungai Siput;
2) M Saraswathy Deputy Chairperson of Parti Sosialis Malaysia;
3) Choo Chon Kai Committee Member;
4) M Sukumaran Committee Member;
5) A Letchumanan Sungai Siput Branch Secretary;
6) Sarat Babu Youth Leader.

The police detained the EO 6 to deter the public from attending the Bersih 2.0 Rally. If the police have evidence the EO 6 committed a crime then the police should charge them and prove their case in a court of law. There is no justification for their detention. It is totally unwarranted and violates the universal principles of human rights.

I ask the Prime Minister to stand by the pledges that he made:-

a) To all Malaysians in his maiden speech on 3rd April 2009 when 13 ISA detainees were released and he pledged to conduct a comprehensive review of the ISA;

b) To Malaysian youth on 27th August 2010 at the Barisan Nasional Youth Lab programme when he said that the days of “scare politics” or using the ISA to wield power and show that one has full control were done;

c) To the International Community in his maiden speech on 27th September 2010 at the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly where he urged all nations to embark on a “Global Movement of Moderates”, to respect human rights and international humanitarian law;
d) To Malaysian and African leaders on 19th June 2011 at the Langkawi International Dialogue to practice transparency, accountability, integrity and to show strong values of good governance; and

e) To the United Nations that Malaysia as a Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, is committed and pledged to cooperate, promote, support and protect human rights.

I ask the Prime Minister to stop using “scare politics” and to stop using the Emergency Ordinance and ISA. The Prime Minister must show he dares to practice what he preaches by releasing the EO 6 immediately. Otherwise it will confirm that what he practices he dare not preach. For the dignity and credibility of all Malaysians, I call on the Prime Minister to live up to his own words.

William Leong Jee Keen
Member of Parliament for Selayang