The Malaysian police justified the arrest of students who crossed the boundaries of the law. The students were arrested on February 24, Friday, for publicly defaming Singapore in their exam rant on a history paper of national importance.
Details of the Arrest by Malaysian Police
The two 18-year-old got remanded after one of the teachers filed a complaint in response to a viral video on TikTok and Facebook. The police chief, Suffian Abdullah, referring to SPM, says students seemed to be critically reprimanding the system and the set exam paper. They were dissatisfied with the SPM history paper, which didn’t go as per their expectations.
SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, or the Malaysian Certificate of Education) is of equal value to the O-Levels. All the fifth-form or final-year students participate in this paper conducted by secondary high schools in Malaysia.
The students not only insulted the question setters with abusive words but also insulted Singapore. In accordance with a Malaysian website, the student mentioned that “Singapore’s nothing but a kampung.” Furthermore, humiliating Singapore for its penury, they say that “even their water comes from Malaysia! Why should it be included in the exam?”
One of the teens in the video could be seen swearing and making obscene gestures while parodying Singapore’s history. He even advanced further, disregarding the importance of Singapore’s history and constitution and their relevance to any Malaysians. He says, “To those who made this SPM history paper, what about Singapore? People don’t read Singapore”.
Cross-questioning the Malaysian police
The Malaysian human rights group claimed that the police had gone too far in the investigation. They challenged the police’s action of first raiding the boys’ home in Hulu, Selangor, and then taking a drug test without a solid reason. In addition, they targeted the Malaysian police for being too harsh on the boys. The screening test intensified the charge as it proved them innocent of any prior criminal record and negative for drug intake.
LFL (Lawyers for liberty) cautiously stated that the manner of arrest was “shocking”. While synonymously, they sent for an explanation from the Home Minister, Communication Minister, and Education Minister. The group proposed that this arrest could be deeply concerning for people if left unaddressed and unrebuked. They further added to it, saying that it must have caused severe trauma to them and their families, and all this simply over a video in which they tried to vent their anger on the SPM history paper.
Superintendent Suffian attacked back, saying that the two-day remand was simply targeted at forcing statements from the students. These statements were thoroughly recorded and were simultaneously fact-checked with the respective parties. The latter additionally included the scrutinizing of contents in their cell phones and extraction of the disciplinary report from the school itself.
To conclude, the recent media report mentioned that the students were released from the police station at 11 a.m. Also, the police released the boys before the two-day remand order. The boys were finally coerced to apologize in the recently uploaded video. However, the police are bent on finishing the investigation papers and subsequently mailing them to Selangor’s Deputy Police Prosecutor.
