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Monday, October 20, 2014

Abolition of cruel laws: A duty for today’s youth

When the dust has settled, history will remember those who stood up for freedom, justice and democracy.
COMMENT
By Yeo Bee Yin
sedition actLast Thursday, while hundreds of lawyers were out under the scorching sun to protest against the Sedition Act, the Umno and Gerakan youth chiefs went on Twitter to belittle the march. Their remarks were made in the language of the old politics whereas, as youth leaders, they are supposed to be the voices for tomorrow. Disappointing indeed.
Both believe in the necessity of the Sedition Act (or elements of it) as a safeguard against offensive speeches and disharmony. Perhaps they have forgotten that even after so many years of the law’s existence, the loss of harmony is more pronounced today than at any time in our recent history.
Lasting harmony requires genuine understanding between different groups through education and discourse, not the suppression of thought and speech and the oppression of dissenters.
According to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, selective prosecution is the cause of bad public perception of the Sedition Act, not the act itself. As a response, I’ll quote from the Bar Council’s memorandum: “The lesson we learn is that the justness in the use of such laws cannot be dependent on the good faith of the authorities. Laws must in themselves be good and just. The Sedition Act 1948 is not such a law.”
As young Malaysians, we shall not be misled by the BN youth chiefs into believing that oppressive laws are the answer to national disharmony. We shall stand up against unjust laws and be the guardians of the future liberty of this nation.
Our nation has time and again given in to laws that suppress the freedom of the people. The University and University College Act 1971 has almost completely killed activism on all Malaysian campuses, stifling the voices of our students at the time in their lives when they should be encouraged to think critically and debate intensely. The Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984 restricts journalistic freedom, contributing to the overall deterioration of democracy and election justice in Malaysia.
Giving in to oppressive laws is no longer an option for our generation. It is the duty of this generation to ensure that oppressive laws will have no place in the future of Malaysia. There will be people such as the BN youth chiefs who question the necessity of standing up against such laws, but when the dust has finally settled, history will remember those who stood up for freedom, justice and democracy.
I am Yeo Bee Yin and I support the abolition of the Sedition Act.
Yeo Bee Yin is the Selangor State Assembly Representative for Damansara Utama.

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