Malaysian teacher charged with sedition

Mahathir has accused some teachers of poisoning minds

A teacher in Malaysia could be jailed for up to three years on charges of inciting hatred against the government through an exam question.

In the paper he asked his students to discuss the country's judicial system.

The exam was for 14-year-old students in a school in the northern state of Terengganu.

Correspondents say Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad has often accused opposition parties of spreading lies and inciting students to hate his government.

The teacher, 33-year-old Shamsukamal Abu Bakar, set the question in a Malay-language text paper last September.

The question was: "You have been selected to take part in an elocution contest on the topic: Justice is eroding and lacking in the judiciary system of Malaysia. Prepare the speech."

Protests

On Wednesday the teacher pleaded not guilty to the charge of sedition at a court in Terengganu, which is controlled by the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). He was released on bail and a trial date set for 1 October.

Anwar says his jailing is politically motivated

If found guilty he could be jailed and fined up to $13,158 (50,000 ringgit).

Since the sacking and detention of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, a growing number of ethnic Malay students have taken part in anti-government protests.

There has also been outcry over a spate of arrests under a security law that allows people to be detained indefinitely without trial.

On Saturday, the son of PAS leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the eastern state of Kelantan, on what police said were grounds of national Security.

Malaysia is a mainly Muslim country

Nik Adli Nik Abdul Aziz, a 34-year-old teacher at a religious school, was suspected of involvement with a "terrorist" Islamic group waging a "holy war," a police spokesman said.

Opposition leaders and rights groups have condemned the use of the security act. In April, 10 Anwar supporters were detained under the same law.

PAS is the main opposition group in an alliance with the National Justice Party, led by Anwar's wife, and two other parties. It controls both Terengganu and Kelantan states.

In 1999 elections it tripled its parliamentary seats to 27, while Mahathir's United Malays National Organisation, lost 22 seats, dropping to 72.

Malaysia's sedition laws are based on a 1948 act used by the country's former British colonial rulers in their fight against communism.