KUCHING - DAP Batu Lintang state assemblyman Voon Lee Shan has lodged two police reports at the Kuching Central Police Station - one against state assemblyman Abdul Karim Hamzah (PBB-Asajaya) and the other against the president of Parti Rakyat Sarawak Dr James Masing for criminal intimidation.
Voon made the reports to counter those made by Karim and five other BN reps against him on Wednesday in which they wanted the police to investigate him for what they claimed were Voon’s alleged seditious remarks and words on the rights of the Malays and Dayaks uttered in the state assembly on Nov 11.
Voon alleged Karim issued a threat against him Nov 13 via an SMS in which Karim allegedly said: “Evening YB. Almost all the BN YBs spoke up this afternoon offended by your racial overtone speech on 11th November which we deem as inciting and very seditious. I have put on record in my debate this evening that if the damaging and seditious words are not withdrawn and apology to the House not made by Tuesday 17 November, I will have to lodge a police report for incitement and seditious remark.”
Voon (left) said: “I was alarmed and felt threatened and it has caused fear and mental injury to me of a criminal investigation and prosecution against me which may affect my liberty.
“The unlawful threat together with the mentioning of the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the press was with the intention to obstruct my rights as a mouthpiece for the people of Sarawak and to my right of freedom of speech and immunity accorded to me by the Federal Constitution as an elected representative of the Legislative Assembly in debates I participated in the Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak,” he said.
Voon also referred to a in the Borneo Post dated Nov 19 in which “Karim said that Voon had uttered words in DUN which were deemed seditious and unhealthy for a multi-ethnic country Malaysia. “
"You cannot use words that disrupt racial harmony and incite one race against the other. And that is how it sounded when you read those three paragraphs (of the Hansard). It has that sort of connotation.”
Action can cause disruption
The DAP leader said that Karim and other BN YBs by calling a press conference or going to the press showed that they had the intention to create hostility from the people of Malaysia towards him after on issues raised by him in his debate in the assembly.
Voon said: “I also fear that their action can cause disruption to public order and public peace. The issues were in respect of the flaws in the Federal Constitution affecting the rights of natives and Malays in Sarawak and the political implications of the Federal Constitution which should only be debated and dealt with inside the august House and not poured out of the House.
“No where was my speech or my intention to disrupt the racial harmony of the people, but the facts were twisted to fan hatred against me and therefore the publication and other things in connection thereto published out from the press conference were highly defamatory and malicious.
“I lodge this police report for investigation for offences under criminal intimidation, criminal defamation and also offences under the Internal Security Act 1960 and the Seditious Act 1948.
“I also seek the police and the relevant authorities to protect my safety and the safety of my family as we feel not safe at this moment,” he added.
In another police report against Masing, who is also Land Development Minister, Voon quoted remarks that appeared in the Borneo Post on Nov 19 which said: “Masing, the President of Parti Rakyat Sarawak, said it was not true that the Malays in Sarawak had suppressed the Dayaks as alleged by Voon in his debate on 11 November. He (Voon) claimed that the Malays suppressed the Dayaks? This is not so. It would not be right for him to use racial issue to gain political mileage.”
In this police report, Voon said that he wanted to make it clear that he never said the Malays in Sarawak had suppressed the Dayaks as alleged in the said publication, which he deemed as highly defamatory as he never said them in his debate.
Totally false
“First, these words in the publication in the Borneo Post, which are totally false, malicious are defamatory and tantamount to disparage my credibility. Second, these words may have a seditious tendency to incite the Malays and the Dayaks in Sarawak to breach pubic peace and public order.
“Third, it may have a tendency to incite and create hostility against me from Malays and Dayaks in Sarawak. The publication of words used therein has caused mental injury and agony to me and I am affected by the said untrue allegations and I fear for my safety and the safety of my family,” he said and wanted an investigation to be carried out by the police under the Penal Code, the Seditious Act and the Internal Security Act 1960.
Voon told the press later that he would continue to speak for the rights of the Dayaks and the Malays as those rights are stipulated in the Federal Constitution.
“As a multi-racial party we from DAP must continue to raise these issues, even though Dayak YBs do not dare to raise them,” he said, pointing out that the BN would do everything to stop them from raising such issues.
He hoped the ordinary Dayaks would support DAP, PAS and PKR in their efforts to fight for their rights.
Kota Sentosa state assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen (left) who accompanied Voon to lodge the reports said that the State BN Government did not want the Opposition to raise the truth of the issues.
“When they realise that the Opposition raise the truth of certain issues, they just cannot do anything, except to suppress us from talking,” said Chong, who was himself suspended during the recent sitting of the Dewan Undangan Negeri.
Sarawak PAS secretary Saidin Massudin Sahini, who was present, expressed full support to Voon to speak for the rights of Bumiputra – the Malays, the Ibans, Bidayuhs and Orang Ulu.
“We agree with what Voon said and he does not only speak for the Chinese, but also for the Malays and the Dayaks,” he stressed.
Show of support
In a show of support for Voon, Sarawak National Party secretary-general Edmund Stanley Jugol said in a statement that prior to the formation of Malaysia, Dayak leaders requested for various safeguards and constitutional framework to protect the interest of the Dayak communities who were lagging behind the various communities in Malaysia.
Among their worries were their rights over native customary lands and a request for a special rights and privileges to entitle them to preferential treatment especially in socio-economy, education and employment in the civil service.
The special rights and privileges, he said, were agreed to and therefore enacted in the Federal Constitution.
Jugol said: “However, until today not much of that special rights and privileges has been invoked to benefit the Dayak communities since independence. This has been the sore point that causes much dissatisfaction among the Dayak communities including Dayak members of SNAP and others at large.
“They have always wanted us to bring up and highlight this issue for the attention of the government with the hope that a more affirmative action will be taken to address this matter. The recent case of Marina Undau is just a tip of the iceberg,” he said, pointing out that there is nothing wrong in highlighting this issue as it is a social contract, guaranteed and enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
“Since SNAP has no elected representative or YBs and other Dayak YBs are reluctant to bring up this matter publicly, the Dayak members in our party agreed to ask Voon Lee Shan ti bring it up in the recent DUN sitting.
“We specially asked Voon because of his deep understanding of Iban culture and fervour for the socio-economic plight of the Dayak communities. He has many Dayak relatives and Malay friends and speaks Iban fluently,” he said, hoping that the government would address the plight of the Dayak communities instead of condemning Voon.
