Receiving foreign funding is not a crime under the law: Thiru

KUALA LUMPUR: Receiving foreign funding for activities is not a crime under the law unless it is from prohibited organisations.
Slamming the use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) on civil society for allegedly receiving foreign funding, Bar Council president Steven Thiru (pix) said "foreign funding" is the new excuse to use the law.
"The rationale behind the recent use of Sosma for allegedly receiving foreign funding is difficult to fathom.
"There is no legal impediment on receiving foreign funding and there is nothing to indicate that the alleged foreign funding that is being investigated, emanated from a prohibited organisation under our law," he said when opening a forum on whether Sosma is another Internal Security Act (ISA).
"It would seem the spectre of foreign funding is the current excuse for invoking Sosma.
"The approach of the authorities appears to be that these foreign funding are being used for activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy, for example toppling a democratically elected government," he said.
He stressed that the activities of the civil societies under investigation are clearly for the purposes of enhancing democracy in the country specifically in the sphere of human rights advocacy and awareness.
"Much of the activities here are for the marginalised and vulnerable in our society for example foreign workers.
"It is therefore and it is further perplexing that the authorities have chosen to use Sosma particularly against organisations that have purportedly received funding from OSF (Open Society Foundation)," he said.
The panelists were Bar Council legal aid committee co-chairman Ravi Nekoo, its human rights committee co-chairman Andrew Khoo, Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah and former Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkekly Ahmad.