Refuge for the Refugees founder Heidy Quah found herself in the dock today over her Facebook post on alleged mistreatment of refugees at Immigration detention centres.
Before the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court this morning, the non-governmental organisation’s (NGO) director claimed trial to a charge of improper use of network facilities to upload an offensive statement.
On July 7 last year, it was reported that she was summoned to Bukit Aman, believed to be in connection to her FB post on alleged mistreatment at the centres.
According to the charge read out to her before judge Edwin Paramjothy today, she was accused of committing the offence around 5.30am on June 5, last year.
She was charged under Section 233 (1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. According to Section 233(3) of the Act, she faces a maximum fine of RM50,000, or jail time of not more than a year, or both, if found guilty….
Her questioning at Bukit Aman came in the wake of a police probe on an Al-Jazeera documentary that allegedly misrepresented facts surrounding the treatment of migrants detained around Covid-19 red zones in Kuala Lumpur.
The Malaysian authorities should be mindful that whilst it is not a crime to be incorrect it is a human rights violation to take away people’s liberty to speak out and have opinions…. even if these are misplaced in the view of the authorities.
A public spirited and caring woman has voiced concern about the conditions of refugees in Malaysia. These most vulnerable people on the planet are the most likely to be ill treated and neglected in host countries everywhere.
Societies need Samaritans such as this prepared to speak out about neglect or worse abuse, where most of us prefer to turn a blind eye or express resentment towards ‘beggars’ arriving in our midst from places of misfortune.
Yet, the authorities in Malaysia would prefer not to be criticised or held to account (or embarrassed by Al Jazeera) and so it appears they have criminalised criticism and charged this woman of conscience with accusations of ‘fake news’ (on the very day they rescinded the emergency ordinance against ‘fake news’).
There are better ways to deal with ‘Fake News’ of course. If the lady is wrong over her concerns, this would have presented the golden opportunity for the Malaysian authorities to showcase the marvellous way in which they in fact care for refugees.
Why not invite in the cameras and interview the happy and grateful mothers and children within their detention quarters, all praising the conditions and their kindly guards?
Then they would easily prove their ‘fake news’ point and show up the ignorant, critical ‘busybody’ who has raised unfair concerns. It would save the public a fortune over an unnecessary prosecution and educate them also.
However, by doing what they have done the PN thugs have only confirmed in everybody’s mind the obvious logic that something cannot be right with Malaysia’s treatment of refugees – the country is already high on the list of offenders for mistreatment of migrant workers and for people trafficking, so it would hardly be a surprise to find failings in this department also.
Those who silence criticism have something to hide and therefore the only logical conclusion is that it is not this human rights defender who has committed any kind of crime, but that Malaysia’s illegitimate regime has just added to its own list of crimes and violations by prosecuting her.