Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,
The Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Office of The Prime Minister,
Main Block, Perdana Putra Building,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62502 Putrajaya, MALAYSIA
19 May 2015
Dear Prime Minister Najib,
We, the undersigned international organisations, urge the Malaysian authorities to drop charges against cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque “Zunar”, who is currently facing a record-breaking nine charges under the Sedition Act for comments made on the social media network Twitter, for which – if convicted – he could face up to 43 years in prison.
We also call upon the Malaysian authorities to repeal the Sedition Act, a law that is used as a tool to stifle legitimate debate and dissent. In 2012, Prime Minister Najib Razak made a commitment to repeal the Sedition Act. However, following the most recent election, he has instead extended the Sedition Act’s reach and strengthened the penalties for infringement in a move we believe is intended to help maintain his party’s hold on power.
Freedom of expression is an essential part of any democratic society and the Malaysian authorities must protect this right for all, including those who are critical of government. Rather than safeguard this right, the authorities have intensified their crackdown on journalists, writers, activists, students, academics and artists. We, the undersigned international organisations, condemn these violations and urge the international community to support Zunar and everyone in Malaysia to speak freely in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Sincerely,
ARTICLE 19
English PEN
Index on Censorship
Media Legal Defence Initiative
PEN International
CC:
Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, Attorney General
Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Khalid bin Abu Bakar, Inspector General of Police
Malaysian cartoonist Zunar is currently facing 9 charges under the country’s sedition act, with a maximum penalty of 43 years imprisonment. Five of his books have already been banned, containing cartoons deemed “detrimental to public order”. Since 2009, his Kuala Lumpur office has repeatedly been raided, thousands of his cartoons confiscated and publishers and bookstores warned off printing or carrying any of his titles.
In a year when cartoons have rarely been far from the headlines, join us for an evening with an award-winning satirist who says “I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink”.
One week before his trial in Malaysia, Zunar will be joined by political cartoonist Martin Rowson to share his story through words and pictures.
Where: Free Word Centre, London When: Thursday 14 May 2015, 7.30pm Tickets: Limited, booking essential – Book here
Although the political situation in Malaysia has been very tense since 1998, now the majority of Malaysians are beginning to show defiance against the ruling party Barisan Nasional, which has ruled the country for 54 years. People cannot accept the widespread corruption and high inflation with people living in economic hardship anymore.
The current Prime Minister, Najib Razak, is involved in the corruption scandal of the purchasing of Scorpene submarine. This is further scandalised by the murder of a Mongolian model by the name of Altantuya who was also involved in the submarine deal.
She was killed in Malaysia by those close to the Prime Minister. Nevertheless, the Barisan Nasional still stays in power from the bountiful of deceits throughout the election. Since all local newspapers, television and radio are controlled by the BN government, the people had to use alternative media such as the Facebook and Twitter to criticise and vent their frustrations.
As a political cartoonist, I use cartoons as a way to criticise the government. Not surprisingly, my cartoons are banned from being published in the government media. I produce cartoons for Malaysiakini.com, my own website, and on Facebook and Twitter.
I also publish cartoon books, but my seven books are banned on the grounds that the contents were “detrimental to national security.” Printers who printed my books and stores that sold them are constantly threatened by the authorities.
In 2010, I was arrested under the Sedition Act when my then new book, Cartoon-O-Phobia, was about to be launched. I challenged the book-banning and the unlawful detention. For this, the Kuala Lumpur High Court will decide on the 27 June.
No matter, I continue to draw, with my work now being followed by a bunch of young cartoonists. As a result, the government-controlled Election Commission recently decided to ban the use of cartoons in the coming general election (to be called before the current term ends in March 2013).
The banning of cartoons during the election is comical and ludicrous. This is because cartooning is a legally-practised medium in Malaysia and therefore the Commission does not have the right to forbid its use. Moreover, this is contradicting the freedom of expression provided to all citizens in the Malaysian Constitution.
I call for the Commission to withdraw this rule or it will become another Malaysian product of jokes to the global community. Recently, Malaysia has become a laughing stock due to the action on cartoonists such as banning of comic books and the detention of cartoonists under the Criminal Act.
I would like to announce that I will be leading a group of cartoonists, the Kumpulan Kartunis Independen (KKI) and will be actively involved before and during the next election campaign.
We will be opening our own Cartoonist Operations Centre and will be moving as a group in a van while campaigning for the coming election.
Our focus is to expose fraud and corruption and misuse of public funds by the current government, such as Scorpene Scandal or the domineering of the PM’s wife. The message-laden cartoons will be distributed in various forms: brochures, posters, banners, videos, to name a few.
I am ready to face the consequences! And I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink!
Zunar is the foremost Malaysian political cartoonist. Last year, he has been conferred “2011 Courage In Editorial Cartoon” award by Cartoonist Rights Network International in Washington
Political cartoonist Zunar (Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque) appeared at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this week for the first hearing of a civil suit in which he challenges the Malaysian government and police for his arrest and detention on 24 September 2010. Zunar is seeking the return of confiscated property as well as aggravated losses and damages incurred in the raid of his office, during which police seized copies of his latest work, Cartoon-O-Phobia, and arrested him for sedition. The raid occurred just hours before the book’s launch.
Malaysian cartoonist Zunar is currently facing 
