RIGHTS group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has called out the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government over its use of the Sedition Act 1948 to curtail provocations on the so-called “3R” (race, religion and royalty) issues.
LFL director Zaid Malek said for this government, it seems that “3R” has become the excuse for every infringement of civil liberties where every broken promise of reform is justified on grounds of “3R”.
“The Sedition Act is an antiquated and draconian colonial legislation that has long threatened personal and political freedom in this country.
“It blatantly breaches the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution,” he stressed in a statement on Tuesday (March 26).
He further noted that the Sedition Act has a long history of being used against the political opposition, activists and opponents of the government of the day.
“This is made possible because the Act is so vaguely and widely constructed that it could make any comment, even legitimate expressions of dissent against the government, as ‘sedition’.
“This dangerous law has no place in a modern democracy and most Commonwealth countries have already repealed this colonial legacy of the British Empire.”
Zaid said the government must not use the royal institution as an excuse to justify the continued existence of the Sedition Act.
“Protecting the Malay Rulers is not a legitimate reason to maintain the Sedition Act as any government, either the current PH-led one or subsequent governments can still extend the use of the Sedition Act to any government critic,” he stated.
“Many facets of government administration have some manner of royal involvement, such as amendments of certain articles of the Federal Constitution or certain appointments.”
He further warned that the involvement of the Rulers in any decision, no matter how slight, could result in any comments or criticism of government action to be considered “seditious”.
“The same is also true for issues relating to race and religion, which undoubtedly plays a large role in Malaysia’s political discourse,” he added.
“There is just no way to salvage the Sedition Act; the risk of it being used against the rakyat is far too great.”
Zaid further called it an “appalling betrayal” for a PH-led government to now refuse to repeal the Sedition Act now that that they are in power when they had for so long promised to do so while they were in the opposition.
“Their previous position on the Sedition Act contained no reservations about protecting the royals, race or religion, and there is no reason for that stance to change now that they are in power. To change that stance now is just hypocrisy and cynical opportunism,” he said.
“PH must remember that they were elected on the platform of reform, which included the promise to repeal the Sedition Act. Keep the promise, repeal the Sedition Act 1948.” – March 26, 2024
Main pic credit: BBC News
