Eight Months for Harris Ibrahim.

Activist jailed eight months over seditious call to change government

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 ― The Sessions Court today sentenced activist Haris Ibrahim to eight months’ jail after finding him guilty of sedition over a speech he…

m.themalaymailonline.com

steadyaku47 comment : To many Malaysians the sentencing of activist  Haris Ibrahim to eight months jail after being found guilty of sedition over a speech he made three years ago would be nothing out of the ordinary coming from a Judiciary that is "guided" by the political agenda of a Barisan Nasional government that brooks no tolerance for dissent of any sort to their corrupt ways of doing government.

I remembered asking Harris when he was last in Melbourne, if he had considered using Melbourne as a base for his political activism. The answer to that was a firm "NO" and he left it at that. Before that we have had dinner and then we went over to the venue where he was to speak. As he spoke I knew in my heart of hearts that Harris would soon be silenced one way or the other. BN would find it impossible to "manage" Harris simply because he was passionate in wanting change, he was focused in making that change happen and he had the intellect to convey that desire to others and bring many to his side if given the opportunity. This was not someone that BN can silenced....and more worrying for BN he was actively doing something about making that change possible. 

We can all shrug our shoulders and tell ourselves that Harris only has himself to blame for crossing that line beyond which Najib and his cohorts do not want any Malaysian to cross.
Let me tell you this - without people like Harris and others of his ilk, we would still be living in the dark ages when dissent was summarily punished with impunity by the powers that be, with PDRM and the Judiciary complicit in the carrying out same. 

Today the authorities can no longer just go pick up anyone at 3 am from their houses and throw them to rot in a cell while harrassing and intimidating them with torture and rabid iinterrogation. 

Today the politicians can no longer order the Police to go kill villagers as they did in Memali simply because these villagers are not supporters of Umno.  

Any arrest, any intimidation, any harrassment and any attempt to prevent anyone from doing what they are legally allowed to do are no longer possible without it being in the public domain in real time....and today we have many legal minds who are courageous enough to stand againts any intimidation from the powers that be in Putrajaya.

Things are changing...but not fast enough. 

There are enough corrupt officers in PDRM, in the Judiciary and in many parts of government who will still do the bidding of their political masters. That is why 1MDB can still happen. That is why Najib can have billions deposited into his account and get away with it. And that is why even high public officials are sacked and moved around to suit the political agenda of Najib Razak.

Elections are still a sham. All that can be done to ensure that corrupt politicians get to enjoy their ill gotten gains are being done...and we are still powerless to stop them.

But once in a while we have people like Harris. They march to their own drum beat  and do what they think is necessary to make the powers that be understand that not every Malaysian will cower in the face of threats and intimidation's from corrupt politicians.

I know you will say that it is easy for me to say all this because I write from Melbourne...far far away from the maddening crowd. Yes "they" cannot touch me. Yes "they" cannot harass or threaten me....but I still have to make the effort to wrote and tell you what is in my heart. 

In my heart people like Harris are warriors. But I wonder if they can pay the price for standing up on our behalf against the tyranny of politicians who are corrupt to the core. Sometimes I think imprisonment is really too much for people like Harris to endure because it robs them of the nearness of their loves ones. It robs them of their freedom and it puts them in a room with nothing but themselves to keep themselves sane. That is a big ask of anybody. Our brother Anwar Ibrahim has endured many years of that. And so has others.

I hope Harris will be strong. We already know he is courageous and his commitment to make change possible is absolute. Harris, I can only imagine your state of mind today. You will be in my thoughts for as long as you are incarcerated and for as long as we are still under this odious regime of Najib Razak. .......but all things must pass. Patience my friend, for I know you will emerge from this confinement a better and stronger man. Salam.        

     

At the Courts after posting Bail

At the Courts after posting Bail.