I will not be cowed by ‘bullies’, says Eric Paulsen after release

Lawyers for Liberty director Eric Paulsen is all smiles after his release from police detention, outside the Dang Wangi police station, in Kuala Lumpur today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, March 23, 2015.Lawyer Eric Paulsen hit out at the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), saying he would not be cowed by "bullies", minutes after he was released from detention where he was investigated for sedition over a tweet he had posted on hudud.

The Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) co-founder said everybody has the right to comment on the hudud enactment and IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has no right to restrict anyone from discussing the issue.

"The hudud enactment for Kelantan would affect Malaysians, thus giving the right to all Malaysians to comment on the matter.

"It's quite shocking how the IGP reacted again, we have been saying that the IGP should not be twitter policing, but it seems that he is not getting the message.

"It's an issue of public interest and everybody has the right to comment. It is not for the IGP to dictate who can comment on such a thing," he said after being released from the Dang Wangi police headquarters this evening.

He added that he would continue to speak up against bullies, such as the IGP, who are misusing the micro-blogging site.

"The thing with dealing with bullies is that you have to stand up to him, we would not be cowed," he said.

Paulsen was arrested yesterday over his tweet: "Do not simply believe that everything will be okay with hudud implementation – no basis that hudud will run smoothly in Malaysia”.

This drew angry comments on Twitter, leading users to tag Khalid’s Twitter account, @KBAB51.

Khalid said that Paulsen should “watch his habit and mouth” in making comments on sensitive issues, such as religion.

"Who is Eric Paulsen to question whether the hudud law is fair or not? It’s a sensitive issue, why question that?

"I will review the tweets he sent out and the police will take action," Khalid was reported as saying.

Khalid had also reportedly responded by saying, “@PDRMsia look at these comments on religion seriously by those who are not an expert in it. PDRM has no choice but to take action against them."

Paulsen was then arrested at Dataran Merdeka underground at 4.50pm when he was attending the Arts For Grab event.

Earlier today, a magistrate rejected police's application to remand the lawyer for four days, ordering instead that he be released today.

- TMI