Suaram executive director Azura Nasron criticised the apparent use of Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, saying its application amounts to the criminalisation of non-partisan civic education.

“We call on the police to immediately drop the Section 233 probe against Fahmi,” she said in a statement today.

“In the context of the Sabah state election, voters, especially youths, require unimpeded access to non-partisan civic education to make informed choices.”

Azura said the investigation undermines the rights of voters to political literacy and understanding of Malaysia’s political system, contradicting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent remarks in Ethiopia advocating for youths as “equal participants” in politics.

“Investigating ‘Kelas Demokrasi’ under Section 233 deepens the very declining trust in institutions that the government wishes to remedy,” she said.

Fahmi said in a Facebook post yesterday he had been summoned by police in a sedition investigation over a video he produced on Musa.

He said he received a notice from the police yesterday afternoon, ordering him to present himself to the authorities today to be questioned over a video on the Sabah governor.

The video was part of his “Kelas Demokrasi” series of workshops live-streamed on TikTok about Malaysia’s system of constitutional government and on the electoral process.

Fahmi said it was the first time that he had been called up over his series, although they had been banned online and offline in the past.