Several groups call for suspension of Sedition Act

PETALING JAYA: The government must immediately suspend the operation of the Sedition Act 1948 and then repeal it at the next Parliamentary sitting, several groups have said.

They said it was unacceptable that anyone be arrested and charged under the colonial-era law.

Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) director Zaid Malek also urged Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus Harun to withdraw the sedition charges against caretaker Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.

He said that just as it was invalid for previous governments to use the Sedition Act against Pakatan Harapan leaders and political opponents, the same can be said now of Muhammad Sanusi’s two seditious charges.

“No legitimate government can be allowed to wield the powers conferred by these laws.

“The Sedition Act should no longer be part of our criminal justice system and should be consigned to the trash-heap of our colonial past,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Former Malaysian Bar president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan also said it was high time that the Act was abolished.

“I agree with @zaidibrahim (former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim) that the use of the Act against political opponents (and in fact against anyone) by this government is wholly unacceptable. So contrary to the Malaysia we fought for. The Sedition Act must be abolished!” she tweeted.

In an earlier tweet, Zaid had described the laws of sedition as an archaic legal concept that had already been scrapped in most Commonwealth countries.

The views aired by both Ambiga and Zaid appeared to have divided social media users.

Twitter user @pragmalaya said the Pakatan-led government must abolish the Sedition Act now that it is part of the administration.

“As a principle, I am against the Sedition Act, but the onus is on Pakatan to abolish that law now that they are the government. As it stands, every citizen of Malaysia has to endure it, so it is satisfying to see the same applied to the powerful as well for once.

“But Pakatan needs to abolish that law!” he tweeted.

However, Twitter user @imfsea_aruna disagreed that it was the government that made the decision to charge Muhammad Sanusi under the Sedition Act, adding that such a decision lies with the Attorney General (AG).

“Don’t imply that the government ordered (Muhammad) Sanusi be charged under the Sedition Act. It’s the AG who decides.

“Freedom of speech/expression are fundamental human rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Any abuse of these rights to cause racial/religious conflicts should not be condoned,” he said.

A similar view was held by Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in a joint statement where the two parties said it was time for Malaysia to follow its other Commonwealth partners and abolish the Act.

“We strongly reject the statement made by Muhammad Sanusi which was immature and shallow, where it was made on a political talk platform,” they said.

“However, we reject the use of the Sedition Act against him and call for this Act to be abolished.”