KUALA LUMPUR – Human rights advocacy group Aliran has slammed the authorities over legal action against two activists who raised concerns about the pandemic.
In a statement, Aliran pointed to the cases of refugee advocate Heidy Quah and journalist Boo Su-Lyn who were called up by police recently.
Quah was charged yesterday at the cybercrimes court in Jalan Duta here, under Section 233(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
She was accused of committing an offence over a social media post made last year concerning conditions faced by people at immigration detention centres.
“It is disappointing that the authorities, instead of focusing on the pandemic, appear to be going after public-spirited activists,” Aliran’s executive committee said in a statement.
“The activists concerned have done commendable work in highlighting the plight of refugees, in Quah’s case, and raising awareness of health-related issues in Boo’s case.”
Boo is editor-in-chief of health news website CodeBlue.
The group also called on authorities to cease penalising Quah and Boo for merely highlighting issues of public interest.
Quah’s post was made around the time the Perikatan Nasional government ramped up measures targeting refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented people in the country.
“All she wanted to do was to highlight her concerns about the conditions in immigration detention centres and the harm that would be caused by sending more people into immigration detention centres, known to be overcrowded and unhygienic,” Aliran said.
The NGO noted that Boo was questioned over an article on recent Covid-19 cases at the Setia City Convention Centre vaccination venue.
The article claimed that the vaccination centre’s management failed to inform volunteers about four Covid-19 infections.
She also wrote that no mass screenings had been conducted.
“The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force reportedly confirmed the infections a day later,” Aliran said.
“It said seven staff at the centre had tested positive, and the management immediately sanitised the centre,” it added.
Boo is currently being investigated under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Aliran said authorities should immediately refute the claims, instead of resorting to such punitive actions.
“By taking such repressive action, the authorities show they are unwilling to learn from or listen to the people.
“Worse, such action is unbecoming of a nation that aspires to sit on the UN Human Rights Council for the 2022-2024 term, having submitted a long list of pledges to clean up its human rights record.” – The Vibes, July 28, 2021
