Malaysian reporter’s sedition arrest casts doubts on Anwar’s reform record

Rex Tan’s arrest for asking a ‘sensitive question’ shows how a colonial-era act continues to hold back Malaysian reforms, critics say

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks to the media on January 10. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:04pm, 19 Jan 2026Updated: 5:21pm, 19 Jan 2026

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s record on legal reforms has come under scrutiny after a journalist was detained under a colonial-era Sedition Act for asking a “sensitive question” linking the Gaza crisis to the treatment of ethnic Chinese in the Malay-majority country.

Rex Tan, 31, a journalist for local news site Free Malaysia Today (FMT), was arrested early on Saturday morning after he asked the question at a public debate five days earlier in Kuala Lumpur.

Tan is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 505(c) of the Penal Code, which relate to statements intended to cause alarm, after three police reports were lodged against him, his lawyer said.

Police said he was released on bail after his statement was recorded.

The arrest followed a question Tan asked at January 12’s “Gaza Exposes the Complicity of International Actors” lecture that featured firebrand British politician George Galloway among the speakers.

Rex Tan is being investigated for making statements intended to cause alarm. Photo: Instagram/freemalaysiatoday

In remarks later widely shared online, Tan cited a novel by Chinese-born Eurasian author Han Suyin and suggested a “parallel between the Palestinian problem and the Chinese problem in Malaya”, before asking how societies dealt with “exclusive nationalism” and an “us and them” mindset.

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Malaysian reporter’s sedition arrest casts doubts on Anwar’s reform record

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rex Tan’s arrest for asking a ‘sensitive question’ shows how a colonial-era act continues to hold back Malaysian reforms, critics say

Rex Tan’s arrest for asking a ‘sensitive question’ shows how a colonial-era act continues to hold back Malaysian reforms, critics say