TTF: Following is a chronology of events involving Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament Ramkarpal Singh and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad:
9th January 2018: Ramkarpal defends sister Sangeet Kaur Deo who questions Pakatan Harapan’s decision to appoint Mahathir as choice Prime Minister.
13th June 2018: Ramkarpal criticises Mahathir for defending the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) that summoned two top judges to demand their resignations, saying it wasill-advised, against the rule of law and separation of powers.
13th December 2018: Ramkarpal notes that the switching of allegiance by UMNO reps towards Maahthir was a dangerous development as it went against the will of voters who booted Barisan Nasional out of power.
3rd January 2019: Ramkarpal disagrees with Mahathir, says statements and criticism with seditious tendencies are deemed seditious irrespective of the intention of the critic.
Verdict: It’s Karpal Singh vs Mahathir all over again, albeit with a twist – Karpal would have stuck to his guns and opposed Mahathir out-and-out, while Ramkarpal is an unprincipled coward who is pulling his punches just to keep Mahathir in power.
If indeed Ramkarpal is the son of Karpal, he would have told Mahathir to fly kites a long time ago and taken the latter to task for abandoning the rule of law and principles of power separation on multiple occasions.
As a matter of fact, he would also have taken Lim Guan Eng and Phee Boon Poh to task for allowing an illegal factory producing carbon filters in Kampung Sungai Lembu to operate for years without restraint, such that it spiked the incidence of cancer in the said village several orders of magnitude higher than the national average.
But because he wants his family members to remain in positions of power, he is willing to stoop to all of Mahathir’s and Lim Guan Eng’s lows.
Yes, the ‘Karpal’ in Ramkarpal is no longer existent. Perhaps it never was there to begin with.
Perhaps Ramkarpal will now sue me for libel by saying that the content of this article is false and damaging to his reputation.
PETALING JAYA: DAP national legal bureau chairman Ramkarpal Singh today said that he disagrees with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s view that it is not seditious for the public to speak up against those who disregard the rule of law.
While he agreed with the prime minister that the rule of law must be respected by all Malaysians, the Bukit Gelugor MP said: “The law of sedition is peculiar in that statements and criticism with seditious tendencies are deemed seditious irrespective of the intention of the critic.
“In other words, a critic may honestly feel that he is justified in criticising or speaking freely on an issue that he or she feels is justified but such criticism will still be deemed seditious if it carries with it certain seditious tendencies.”
Reacting to the prime minister’s latest post on his blog, Chedet, Ramkarpal said that the intention of the critic is also irrelevant.
“The court decides what is and is not seditious. It is also immaterial if the impugned statement or criticism is true or not,” he said in a statement.
However, he said that as long as the Sedition Act, 1948, remains in force, there will always be a fear of speaking freely, particularly on sensitive issues, and especially when the government’s stance on freedom of speech is in doubt.
“No doubt, freedom of speech, or any other constitutionally guaranteed freedom, for that matter, is never absolute.
“However, as much latitude as possible must be given to citizens to express their views and criticism on matters even if they are sensitive in nature as constructive criticism is a necessary part of any democracy,” he said, urging the government to abolish the Sedition Act in line with its election manifesto.
Dr Mahathir had earlier on his blog said that it was disturbing to see blatant breaches of the law being perpetrated in the mistaken belief that immunity has somehow been accorded and that action will not be taken by the authorities.
“In other words the rule of law has been ignored and the results are predictable. The citizens suffer from injustices. Businesses cannot be done properly. Property has been seized. Unusual and illegal actions have been perpetrated.
“This being so, public complaints against such actions are legitimate and do not breach any law. They will not be considered as sedition in any way. They will be regarded as free speech. Citizens can make reports on these matters or openly speak about them,” Dr Mahathir said.
Source: The Malay Mail Online
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