In his acceptance speech, Zunar dedicated the award to “the Malaysians who have equally pushed for reform”. He also took the opportunity to criticise the Malaysian government: “It is both my responsibility and my right as a citizen to expose corruption, wrong-doing and injustices. Laws like the Sedition Act mean that drawing cartoons is a crime.”
“The government of Malaysia is a cartoon government; a government of the cartoon, by the cartoon, for the cartoon — sorry Abraham Lincoln,” Zunar joked. “For asking people to laugh at the government, I was handcuffed, detained, thrown into the lock-up. But I kept laughing and encouraging people to laugh with me. Why? Because laughter is the best form of protest.”
Zunar currently faces 43 years in prison on nine separate charges of sedition for tweets he wrote criticising Malaysia’s judiciary over the incarceration of a Malaysian opposition leader. His court case was due to begin on 6 November. However, the cartoonist and his lawyers applied to have the case referred to the High Court, delaying proceedings. The application is set for a hearing on 8 December.
The threat of imprisonment obviously hasn’t deterred him from continuing with his work. “My mission is to fight through cartoons,” Zunar said. “Why pinch when you can punch? People need to know the truth and I will continue to fight through my cartoons. I want to give a clear message to the aggressors — they can ban my cartoons, they can ban my books, but they cannot ban my mind.”
The court case against Malaysian cartoonist Zunar on nine charges of sedition was due to begin today, carrying a maximum penalty of 43 years in prison. Instead, the artist and his lawyers filed applications to have their cases referred to the high court, mounting a constitutional challenge to the country’s Sedition Act and delaying the case against them.
Zunar’s lawyer, Eric Paulsen, who was also due to face charges of sedition this morning, says the Sessions Court, which was due to hear the case, does not have jurisdiction to do so. He has posed the following three points for consideration by the court:
1 Whether section 3(3) of the Sedition Act 1948 is unconstitutional as it states that the “intention” of the maker “shall be deemed to be irrelevant” when making the seditious statement;
2 Whether the Sedition Act unlawfully criminalises peaceful expression of free speech and is thus unconstitutional;
3 The recent Federal Court case in PP v Azmi Sharom misread the constitution and should be reconsidered. Under Article 10(2), “Parliament may by law impose” restrictions on fundamental rights. Therefore, as the Sedition Act pre-dates the Constitution, it cannot be read into Article 10(2) to restrict freedom of speech.
The Malaysian Federal Court dismissed a similar constitutional challenge against the Sedition Act by University of Malaya law lecturer Dr Azmi Sharom early last month. Zunar’s application is now fixed for a hearing on 8 December, and the decision will be made on 15 December.
In the meantime, there are no trial dates set for the sedition case against Zunar and his lawyers.
Zunar has just returned to Malaysia, after visiting the UK to raise awareness of his case and mount an exhibition of his work at London’s Cartoon Museum.
Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, aka Zunar, is a Malaysian political cartoonist who has been repeatedly targeted by authorities on account of his work. Five of his cartoon books have been banned by the Malaysian government for allegedly carrying content “detrimental to public order” and thousands confiscated in an effort to curtail freedom of expression.
Zunar told an audience gathered at the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre about his battle against corruption through his work as a cartoonist.
Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, aka Zunar, is currently in the UK to raise awareness ahead of his court case in his home country at the start of next month. He is facing nine charges of sedition for criticising Malaysia’s judiciary over the recent incarceration of a Malaysian opposition leader and could be sentenced to a maximum of 43 years imprisonment.
While in the UK, Zunar will be part of an exhibition at the Cartoon Museum.
“I want people to understand the situation in Malaysia through cartoons,” he said during an interview with Index on Censorship. The full video can be seen above.
“I will never stop,” he added. “It is my right as a citizen to express my view and my responsibility as a cartoonist to give alternative views.”
Zunar and his work have been repeatedly targeted by the Malaysian authorities. In September this year, police opened an investigation on his latest book of political cartoons, Sapuman – Man of Steal. A sales assistant who manages online sales of the title was questioned by police under the Sedition Act. A number of his cartoon books been banned by the government.
This article was posted on 29 October 2015 at indexoncensorship.org
