Fresh clampdown on Malaysian activists reveals Najib’s ‘failed governance’, critics say

Malaysia’s government is attempting to quash political activism through new security laws and fresh arrests. But its critics say the extreme measures only reveal the extent of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s authoritarian regime.

Organised by the electoral reform group Bersih, thousands took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak over his alleged involvement in a grand corruption case. The rally drew as many as 40,000 protesters according to official estimates, but some claim the crowd was larger. This was the organization’s fifth mass anti-government demonstration since 2007.

At least 15 activists and members of the political opposition have since been arrested, including Bersih chairwoman Maria Chin Abdullah who was taken in under a new security law meant for terrorists. Passed in 2015, the controversial law—called the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act or SOSMA—enables officials to arrest and detain people without a warrant and bail.

A statement from the Barisan Nasional government released on Saturday also declared it was unlawful for parties to unseat a democratically-elected administration via street protests.

This weekend’s developments were widely seen as a fresh crackdown on anti-government critics following the introduction of the National Security Act in August, which enabled the government to establish martial law in any part of the country.

“These crude attempts to intimidate Malaysian civil society activists and human rights defenders further damages [the] Barisan Nasional government....This clampdown on its critics is another sign of the Najib government’s failed governance and bankrupt agenda,” Bersih said in a statement on Saturday.