The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) took down several billboards across the state of Selangor emblazoned with the hashtag #BebasAnwar (#FreeAnwar), on the basis that the billboards are seditious in nature.
The billboards, put up to drum up popular support for the release of jailed former Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, were taken down by what seem to be plainsclothes police officers accompanied by their uniformed colleagues, as shown in this video from the Bebas Anwar Facebook page:
The Bebas Anwar group has also posted photos of similar takedowns by the police onto its Twitter account:
On Saturday, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar urged local authorities in Selangor to take down the billboards, as they contain “seditious elements that could confuse the people”.
Khalid said that the PDRM would also instigate action against Jamal Md Yunos, the UMNO division chief from Sungai Besar and one of the public faces of the Malay-rights “red shirt” movement, for threatening to burn down #BebasAnwar billboards throughout Selangor.
Anwar has been serving a five-year sentence in Sungai Buloh Prison since February 10 2015, when the justice system upheld his conviction for sodomising a former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
