Malaysian activists protest 'prosecution' in Singapore

Malaysian activists protest 'prosecution' in Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian activists wearing black
handkerchiefs over their faces protested outside the Singapore
High Commission yesterday against the "persecution of political
opposition" in Singapore.

About a dozen members of human rights groups Suaram and
Aliran, carrying a banner reading, "Respect human rights in
Singapore", picketed at the high commission for a half-hour,
watched by a group of policemen.

The protesters said they wore handkerchiefs to keep from being
identified by high commission staff, who were seen photographing
and videotaping the demonstration.

The protest followed Malaysia's lukewarm acceptance Wednesday
of Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's apology for making
disparaging remarks about a Malaysian state in a court deposition
on Jan. 27.

The deposition was part of Lee's libel case against
Singaporean opposition politician Tang Liang Hong, who fled to
Malaysia's Johor state after losing his parliamentary race in
Jan. 2 elections, saying he had received death threats.

In the deposition, Lee questioned why Tang would feel safer in
Johor, just across the Johor Strait from Singapore, which he said
was "notorious for shootings, muggings and car-jackings".

Lee issued a statement on Monday saying he had instructed his
lawyers to ask the court to delete the offending remarks from the
record.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi said Malaysia welcomed Lee's
move to withdraw the statement, but that "restoration of the old
level of relationship would take time".

The Malaysian protesters said in a statement that the row over
Lee's remarks "has distracted attention from the real issue --
the systematic persecution of those who dare to express opinions
contrary to the PAP (Peoples Action Party) government."

It said the 13 libel suits that have been filed against Tang
were not an isolated incident.

"Other political opponents of the PAP had been hounded out of
the country. These include student leader Tan Wah Piow, former
Solicitor General Francis Seow, former President Devan Nair and
many others," the statement said.

The statement said the protest was in response to a group in
Singapore "who have issued an appeal on the Internet calling for
support in their campaign for justice".

Demonstrations are generally illegal in Malaysia, which still
has emergency laws on the books barring assembly of more than
five people.

Any sort of protest against a fellow ASEAN member -- Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam -- is rarely tolerated.

When Suaram and other activist groups tried to hold a
conference on East Timor last November, a youth group allied to
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's political party barged into the
meeting hall and forced it to shut down.

The government had demanded the conference be canceled, saying
it would hurt ties with neighboring Indonesia.

The Malaysian activists at the conference were arrested, along
with several members of the youth group, and foreign participants
were deported.