In 2015 alone, the Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia has documented 150 arrests and charges of politicians, activists, students, and members of the media, for offences related to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Many of these arrests have been made under the Sedition Act, which Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak pledged to abolish in 2012.
The latest amendments to the Sedition Act pose increasing threats to freedom of expression, both offline and online. They allow the court to order seditious material removed from online sources and to make an order barring a person who has published seditious material from using electronic devices.
APC, along with other organisations, has signed a joint letter of concern on the declining standards of freedom of expression in Malaysia, and calls for the crackdown against freedom of expression to stop.