Insulting Nabi led to a decade imprisonment
Inspector General of Police, Fuzi Harun, has revealed that 10 years imprisonment was laid upon the 22-year-old Sarawakian who insulted Islam and its Prophet. Subsequently, the situation stirred up a storm in the nation as opposing views were made upon the sentence.
Prominently, a variation of lawyers and political figures have made comments about the situation.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh condemned the actions taken by the police. He added that the government are currently taking steps to amend the current laws so that the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will have the authority remove a posting to block a fake news from spreading.
Meanwhile, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang supports the decision to uphold the law on disrespecting religion, but said the sentence was excessive. He also warns netizens on how swift a fake news can spread, pointing out the example of him being the dictator behind the current government and being a distant relative of Chin Peng.
In return, UMNO information chief, Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, criticised Lim Kit Siang’s comment about the excessiveness of the 10-year sentence. He further said that the sentence is a lesson for DAP followers. Additionally, Shamsul stated that the current PH government has disrupted the peace established by BN.
On the other hand, Bukit Lintang assemblyman See Chee How (PKR) announced that he will be leading a team of lawyers to review the case to ensure that proper proceedings had been carried out before the sentencing. Besides, the lawyers will take the mental state of the accused into account, as it seems like the accused did not understand the severity of the charge.
MCA unexpectedly showed support for PKR’s motion to make an appeal for the case. Besides calling it excessive, MCA central committee member Chan Quin Er questioned the mental capabilities of the accused, suggesting for an in-depth background check on the accused.
On the Twitterverse, a magnitude of posts was launched by users. Some are calling the sentence a fascist suppression of free speech, while some say it is an atrocious trend and the authorities involved are being a copy-cat of Pakistani laws.
Generally, Twitter users are commenting on harsh the 10-year sentence is.
On the contrary, a user claims that the accused broke the 5th Rukun Negara of Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan. Is the 10-year sentence too harsh?