People’s Petition on Sedition Act fails in Parliament

Speaker cites two reasons to reject the motion to read the Petition.

KUALA LUMPUR: Parliament did not allow a People’s Petition to repeal the Sedition Act, submitted by Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad on behalf of Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH).

The letter had 3005 signatures.

Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia cited two reasons to reject the motion to read the petition.

Firstly, incomplete information for some of the signatures in the petition.

Secondly, a petition can only be submitted by the people to Parliament to highlight an issue that has been “overlooked by the government”. “It doesn’t apply here since the Sedition Act has been explained and answered by the government,” said Pandikar.

Khalid said at a press conference that “even if there are 1,000 invalid signatures out of the 3,005, 2,000 over Malaysian citizens should still carry enough weight for the petition to, at the very least, be given attention in Parliament”.

Subang MP R. Sivarasa said Pandikar was “biased” and “unfair” for rejecting the appeal on reasons “so technical”.

“The Shah Alam MP is not raising the issue to gain publicity. The Speaker was unfair and biased to say so, it’s not right and he should take it back.”

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng expressed the hope that Prime Minister Najib Razak would “keep his promise, made at least three times in the past, to repeal the Sedition Act”.

“I hope it was not all talk and no action,” said Lim who is also DAP Secretary General.

“Pakatan Rakyat keeps bringing this up not for personal fame or for the party but for our future and our children, so they are not silenced.”

GHAH gathered petitioners at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur at 10 am and marched to Parliament, demanding their right to enter the House as petitioners and to have the People’s Petition raised and debated in Parliament.