YOURSAY 'Misquoting a senior police officer on a sensitive matter of public interest could be seditious, is it not?'

Acting police chief claims 'seditious' photo misquote

Cala: Thanks to Selangor acting police chief A Thaiveegan for clarifying what was said, and what was not said. At least you have the guts to come out in the open.

Here again Utusan Malaysia is seen as the king spinner, totally unprincipled and unprofessional in its reporting.

Author Barry Wain was not wrong when he lamented that former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad literally desecrated all socio-economic and political institutions through his autocratic rule (Wain, 2009, 2012). Many institutions can no longer function professionally and independently of the executive.

As an Umno party organ, Utusan is par excellence judging from this perspective. In addition, our well respected ex-chief justice Suffian Hashim had made similar remarks after Mahathir sacked another chief justice, Salleh Abas, under questionable circumstances in 1989 when the latter refused to be cowed by politicians.

Tholu: Since Utusan has published something that Thaiveegaan did not say, it can be deemed to have purposely and maliciously published those words with the intent to threaten the general public of legal actions for supposedly being provocative and stirring racial conflict.

This definitely amounts to the spreading of a baseless and potentially dangerous rumour that could cause uneasiness among the various races of the country. It is definitely seditious and therefore it is Utusan that should be hauled to the court under the Sedition Act.

Advocatus_Diaboli: If that is so, Thaiveegan should lodge a police report against the ‘certain' newspaper. Indeed, take action against the newspaper for publishing false news and seeking to incite hatred and anger. If not, just shut up.

Clearwater: Misquoting a senior police officer on a sensitive matter of public interest could be seditious, is it not? If so, arrest the news reporter and close down this provocative newspaper.

MyHope: I am certain Malaysia does not have a newspaper named ‘certain'.

Pictures of pupils in shower room may be 'seditious'

LittleGiant: The government, its hardline supporters and law enforcement officers who forever want to be in the good books of the ruling elite, have made a complete mockery of themselves by threatening to use the Sedition Act against the rakyat, for everything from A to Z.

Instead of telling what is seditious, why not the government tell the rakyat what is not seditious? May be there is nothing.

May be the government expects the rakyat to live like "zombies" and nothing more. Is this how the government wants to make Malaysia a fully developed nation in just about seven years from now?

Tholu: So sharing information, adverse though it may be to the powers-that-be, is seditious? What a joke.

So non-Malays not voting for Umno is seditious since it may give rise to 'provocation and racial conflict.' Pictures of non-Malay police officers arresting Malay criminal suspects could also be seditious.

Please learn how to distinguish between seditious acts and the liberty to demand decent and dignified treatment of individuals.

Angelababy: Soon even mentioning your own name can be seditious if others get excited upon hearing it. What is next? Even gestures can be seditious. What is happening to this country?

Jaded: Often the best way to diffuse a situation like this is to bring the facts to the surface. Real facts, not the ones that are bent and polished.

Thereafter the perpetrators need to be dealt with if found "guilty" sweeping things under the carpet as we do so often.

Anon1098: Having seen the photograph of the SK Seri Pristana headmaster Mohamad Nasir Mohd Noor, he looks like a decent guy who unfortunately was unable to handle the fallout from the mistakes in handling the matter.

Please give him the benefit of the doubt, we are only human and I really doubt Mohamad was trying to do anything mean, especially since it is Ramadan and Muslims do try to act more spiritually in this particular month.

Let's put this matter behind us and move on - there are lots of fundamental issues both local and foreign, near-term and long-term, for us to exercise our collective intellects.

This is another reason why the Sedition Act should go. It does not even have the defence of "truth", unlike defamation.

So long as it's around, it is open to political abuse by incumbents in power. I can't believe the police is, once again, training their guns on easy targets, people who are just passing along news. Don't they have real robbers to catch?

Saminathan Munisamy: I grew up with Muslims and during fasting month the canteen owner, Mak Cik Yan, never even a day closed the canteen. Food was served for the non-Muslims.

This is how the integrity between the races in national schools 30 years ago. We really need to think where are we heading with these so-called new "policies".

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