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Councils

GENEVA COUNCIL - Making global markets work for all

23-24 November 1998

RESOLUTION ON MALAYSIA

The Council of the Socialist International, meeting in Geneva, expresses its grave concern at the incarceration of Lim Guan Eng, an elected Member of Parliament and Deputy Secretary General of the Democratic Action Party of Malaysia, a member party of the Socialist International, which is playing an important role in the movement for democratic reform in that country. Lim Guan Eng was convicted under the Sedition Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act for having printed a pamphlet which reflected public concerns regarding the Malaysian Government's handling of a statutory rape case involving a former government minister. The Socialist International believes that his imprisonment indicates the Government's intention to stifle dissent at a time when growing numbers of Malaysians are demonstrating their desire for greater democracy. It therefore strongly urges that Lim Guan Eng be released from prison, and that he be free to carry out his responsibilities as a Member of Parliament, pending a reconsideration of laws used to deny the fundamental right of free expression.