Malaysia’s government accused of using law to silence critics

Several Malaysian civil society groups on Monday accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government of using a harsh criminal law provision to intimidate critics after police questioned activists, academics and political researchers over an alleged plot to topple the government.The backlash follows an announcement in late February that police were investigating allegations of a conspiracy to “topple the government and sabotage national stability” involving “a local influential figure” and an international media agency.The case is being investigated under Section 124B of the Penal Code, an offence punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The inquiry widened last week, also sweeping up academics and civil society figures.In a joint statement on Monday, the civil society groups asked: “Do we want to return to a time when the government cannot be criticised?”Do we want to return to a time when the government cannot be criticised?“We … strongly condemn the actions of the Malaysia-police" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="35931" data-entity-type="organization">Royal Malaysia Police and the Madani government in investigating several activists, academics and political researchers under Section 124B of the Penal Code on the grounds of ‘activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy’,” the statement said.