Probe into activists unwarranted and regrettable, says ex-deputy minister

Former deputy law and institutional reform minister Ramkarpal Singh said he was unable to see how Ng Yap Hwa and Teoh Lee Lan had intended to breach the peace through their campaign.

PETALING JAYA: A former deputy law and institutional reform minister has criticised the probe into activists over a campaign on a “missing prime minister”, as brickbats over the investigation continue to mount.

Ramkarpal Singh said the probe into Ng Yap Hwa, the chairman of the Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement, and Beng Hock’s sister Lee Lan were both “unwarranted and most regrettable”.

Ng and Lee Lan are being investigated for intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace after they launched a campaign called “Search for Missing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim” in Kuala Kubu Baharu yesterday.

In a statement, Ramkarpal said he was unable to see how Ng and Lee Lan had intended to breach the peace through their campaign, adding that they were merely exercising their rights to freedom of speech and expression.

Neither were they promoting feelings of ill-will or hostility among voters in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election or promoting a breach of the peace, he said.

“It is clear that they carried out their demonstration peacefully at a specified time and place. They should not be reprimanded for airing their genuine grievances pertaining to Beng Hock’s case which has attracted considerable criticism over the years.

“The authorities ought to cease investigating them to avoid a perception of intolerance of genuine freedom of speech and expression,” he said.

Beng Hock was the political aide to then Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah. He was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, hours after presenting himself for questioning at the 14th floor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Selangor headquarters.

A coroner’s inquest in 2011 delivered an open verdict. His family filed an appeal against the findings and, three years later, the Court of Appeal set aside the open verdict, ruling that Beng Hock’s death was caused by multiple injuries as a result of unlawful acts by unknown persons.

The association submitted a protest letter to the Prime Minister’s Office in December, stating its dissatisfaction with the fact that no one had been held responsible for Beng Hock’s death.

Earlier today, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim asked whether Malaysians are still allowed to hold protests in light of an investigation opened against Ng, asking why the “government was so fierce”.