Fahmi Reza

Legal action

On 6 June 2016, Fahmi was charged with ‘violating multimedia laws’ as a result of his clown caricature. He had created the image as a protest against Najib, who has been facing allegations that billions of dollars were stolen from a state-owned development fund he oversees. Najib is also being accused of accepting a mysterious US$681 million overseas payment.

Earlier in the year, on 30 January, Fahmi had posted the sketch to his Twitter account with the caption: “In 2015, the Sedition Act was used 91 times. Tapi dalam negara yang penuh dengan korupsi, kita semua penghasut (But in a country full of corruption, we are all instigators).” Police had earlier warned Fahmi that his Twitter account was under surveillance.

Along with three other activists, Fahmi was arrested by police for selling #KitaSemuaPenghasut T-shirts at a shopping complex. The other three people arrested were event organiser Pang Khee Teik, community activist Lew Pik-Svonn and comic artist Arif Rafhan Othman. The three were being investigated for alleged offences under the Sedition Act 1948. Malaysia’s National Human Rights Society (HAKAM) has condemned the 4 June arrests.

The charge was made possible under Section 233(1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which forbids online content deemed to "annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass" others. Fahmi faces a possible one-year prison sentence and a substantial fine, according to his attorney, Syahredzan Johan. He may face another charge under the same section of the Act, for also creating a fake Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission poster bearing the clown caricature.

Fahmi has been charged with violating the law prohibiting communications that cause annoyance, and has pleaded not guilty. As of 30 December 2016, he is out on bail awaiting trial. His lawyer, Syahredzan Johan, says he faces a possible one-year prison sentence and a fine.

Activism

Fahmi says the charges demonstrate the effectiveness of the image, which he says expresses the idea that "the whole country has become the butt of a joke". He has vowed to keep posting satirical political images, and that he was prepared for any consequences. He says that the image “…connects with a lot of the people especially the younger generation, who are buying and wearing the T-shirts proudly, and sharing their photos wearing the T-shirts on their social media accounts”.

Other graphic artists have started creating their own versions of a clown-faced Najib, using the hashtag #KitaSemuaPenghasut (“We are all instigators”). Fahmi stresses that his work generally skewers not just Najib but all sides of Malaysia's politics, where an ethnic Malay ruling elite is defending against a pan-racial opposition promising to end money politics and democratic abuses.

As a film maker, Fahmi won the "Most Outstanding Human Rights Film" at the 2007 Freedom Film Fest, for his documentary, Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka (Ten Years Before Independence), which he says presents a story about Malaysians' struggle for independence, and the contributions of the political left.

He has frequently been banned from addressing students at the University of Malaya, on the subject of student activism. His activities have attracted the attention of media overseas, including The Daily Mail, The New York Times, VICE magazine and Le Figaro.

Clampdown on political expression in Malaysia

Over the last three years, many other opponents or critics of the Malaysian government – including opposition politicians – have faced investigation or charges over a range of offences over the past three years, typically sedition. In July 2016 an elderly man, going by the name of Pa Ya, was arrested in Johor Baru for sharing a crude photo of Prime Minister Najib in a WhatsApp social media group called Bicara Politik Melayu (Malay political discussion).