KOTA KINABALU: A student activist who took part in a protest against corruption in June was questioned by police for several hours on Wednesday (Oct 29).
Sudirman Arshad was among the dozens of peaceful demonstrators present in the June 21 Gempur Rasuah 2.0 anti-corruption rally in front of the Suria Sabah shopping Mall here.
City OCPD Asst Comm Kasim Muda said Sudirman was called in to have his statement recorded relating to the rally.
“However, he was released on police bail in the evening,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said the investigation papers would be compiled and handed to the Attorney General’s Chambers for further instructions.
Earlier, student activist Fadhil Kasim accused the police of wrongfully detaining Sudirman, who had arrived at the Kota Kinabalu police station traffic department to give a statement on a separate case.
He claimed that police had surrounded Sudirman and hauled him off for investigations related to the anti-corruption rally.
He alleged that Aiman was supposed to give police a statement on the rally in November but was instead "ambushed" at the police station.
Fadhil said this breached Notice 111 (police officer’s power to require attendance of witnesses) and the agreement set between Sudirman and the investigating officer.
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) issued a statement following the arrest, calling it an abuse of power and a breach of due process that undermined the rule of law.
Suaram said police initially denied the arrest when, in fact, Sudirman was already under their custody and being questioned for sedition without basic safeguards being upheld, including access to legal counsel.
It said that the police’s sustained disregard for the rule of law was evident, adding that six student activists, including Sudirman, have been arrested in circumstances marked by due-process breaches or disproportionate tactics within four months.
These arrests, alongside Sudirman’s, discredited the government’s reformist claims to a facilitative approach to peaceful assemblies, it said.
