Fight sedition or promote harmony?

WHEN Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced more than two years ago that the Sedition Act 1948 would be repealed and replaced by a National Harmony Act, I welcomed the proposal on behalf of Yayasan 1Malaysia. In the last few months, however, some prominent Malaysians have publicly argued for the retention of the Sedition Act.

While there is some merit in their arguments, they overlook the undeniable fact that the basic thrust of the Act runs counter to the spirit of the most fundamental law that governs the life of our nation, namely, the Malaysian Constitution.