Urgent Appeal
2 May 2015
MALAYSIA: Intimidation against May Day Protesters with arrests and detentions
The police of Malaysia have arrested Arutchelvan (Secretary-General of Socialist Party of Malaysia, PSM), Ambiga Sreenevasan (Formal President of Malaysian Bar Council) and Anthony Loke (Member of Parliament for Seremban) on 1 May 2015, as part of the recent wave of crackdown on anti-GST protests and tightening the grip to curtail dissents in the country. Another 29 young people were arrested as well soon after the May Day rally. More people have been call to report themselves to the police otherwise will be subjected to arrest.
Around 20,000 people took part in the May Day Rally this year in the capital city Kuala Lumpur, with the theme to demand for the cancellation of the newly introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST). The protest was largely peaceful, but the police reacted with arrests after the rally and intended to punish the protesters by remanding them in lock-up.
Before this, total 79 people have been charged in Petaling Jaya Session Court for illegal assembly and criminal trespassing after they staged a sit-in protest against GST at the Customs Office in Kelana Jaya on 23 March 2015.
The GST is a regressive tax which forced all the people in Malaysia including the poor to pay taxes in order to reduce taxes on the rich. GST will burden the low income population and worsen the widening gap between the rich and the poor in Malaysia.
Please send your protest to Malaysia Authority
We hence call upon fraternal organisations around the world to send your protest letter to the following:
Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Office of The Prime Minister of Malaysia
Main Block, Perdana Putra Building Federal Government Administrative Centre 62502, Putrajaya MALAYSIA
FAX: +603 8888 3444
E-mail: ppm pmo.gov.my
Twitter: @NajibRazak
Dato’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi
Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs Block D1 & D2, Complex D,
Administrative Center,
Federal Territory, 62546
Putrajaya
MALAYSIA
Fax : +603-88891613/ +603-88891610
Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Khalid bin Abu Bakar
Inspector-General of Police
Ibu Pejabat Polis Diraja Malaysia,
50560 Bukit Aman,
Kuala Lumpur
E-mail: rmp rmp.gov.my
Twitter: @KBAB51
Please send a copy of your protest letter to int.psm gmail.com (for record keeping pruposes) - Sample letter is included below, you may modify it.
You can also hold protest in front of embassy of Malaysia in respective places to demand for the immediate release of ALL anti-GST protesters.
You can find the location of Malaysian embassies around the world here: http://www.kln.gov.my/web/guest/malaysian-mission
Any enquiry, please contact Chon Kai, Coordinator of PSM International Bureau, at +60195669518 or e-mail: int.psm gmail.com
SAMPLE LETTER
We/I condemn strongly the recent arrests of activists and protesters who participated in May Day Rally in Kuala Lumpur.
Those being arrested including Arutchelvan (Secretary-General of Socialist Party of Malaysia, PSM), Ambiga Sreenevasan (Formal President of Malaysian Bar Council), Anthony Loke (Member of Parliament for Seremban) and at least another 29 people.
We/I believes the recent arrests are political motivated and intended to silence opposition against the newly introduced regressive GST.
Hence, we/I call upon the government of Malaysia:
• To release all May Day protesters immediately and unconditionally.
• Stop crackdown of the right to freedom of assembly.
• Suspend the implementation of the GST.
Yours sincerely,