Umno minister ignores Zunar harrassment, but cites Perkasa and Isma for 'high blood pressure'

KUALA LUMPUR: Ignoring police actions against cartoonist Zunar, an Umno minister has held up criticism of Rosmah Mansor, the prime ministers wife, as an example of how free speech was existent in Malaysia.

Speaking at a students conference today, Abdul Rahman Dahlan said: What (is it that) you want to talk about that you cant? You want to talk about government inefficiency, corruption, scandals? You can talk about almost anything in this country, Malaysiakini reported.

In this day and age, everyone can talk, he was quoted as saying. You can even talk about the wife of the prime minister, and Rosmah has not done anything to you (in retaliation).

However, Abdul Rahman, who is housing minister, did not mention the series of police actions and frequent harrassment of political cartoonist Zunar (Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque), who has been one of Rosmahs most prominent critics and whose cartoon books frequently focus on Rosmah and Najib, linking them to political scandals and financial mismanagement.

In January, police seized more than 150 copies of a cartoon collection in a raid on his offices. In earlier raids, police seized more than 500 copies of his books in an action that also included bookshop raids across the country. He has also been arrested under the Sedition Act. Early this month police seized copies of his latest cartoon collection while they were being delivered to the book launch.

While also ignoring other police actions against free speech, such as arrests of activists ordered by the Inspector-General of Police based on remarks made on Twitter, Abdul Rahman also made a sarcastic response to the statements of Malay and Islamist rights pressure groups Isma and Perkasa.

He said: I think I will have high blood pressure if I think about Perkasa and Isma all the time.

Abdul Rahman then praised the prime minister, Najib Razak, and advised the students at the conference: I always believe the person you should listen to and take heed of is the prime minister himself. Nothing else matters.

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Rahman holds up Rosmah as example of free speech