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Friday, December 5, 2014

Malaysia on watch amid fears Najib will use unfair Sedition law to protect Malay power & suppress voices of dissent

Malaysia on watch amid fears Najib will use unfair Sedition law to protect Malay power & suppress voices of dissent
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's 1Malaysia slogan will be a "meaningless abstraction" if the Sedition Act is used only to protect Malay power and privileges and to suppress voices of dissent, Singapore's The Straits Times said in an editorial today.
Malaysia's multiracial society would be of no value if the colonial-era law continued to intensify divisions among races in the country, the paper noted in an editorial titled "Test of sedition law is in its application".
The daily was commenting on Najib's announcement at the recently-concluded Umno general assembly that the Sedition Act will be maintained, reneging on his promise made two years ago to repeal it.
He had also said the act would be fortified with additional provisions to criminalise insults against Islam and other faiths.
Najib insisted however that he had not retreated from his "moderate position", saying that the law was to cater to all Malaysians rather than his core support base, the Malays.
He also said that enforcement of the Sedition Act must be fair as it was not just about the protection of Muslims and the Malays but of all races.
The law was needed to ensure there would be no conflict and acrimonious relations between the races and religious groups in the country, he had said.
The Straits Times said that it was a "obligation" for the Umno-led Barisan Nasional federal government to act fairly in wielding the act as the coalition needed the support of other communities and not just the Malays.
But instead of rallying Malaysians together, the general assembly had created more anger and displeasure among the wider public over Najib's broken promise.
"Beyond winning the Malay vote, which is Umno's raison d'etre, it is incumbent on a party with a long and proud political tradition to help gain the support of other communities as well," the Straits Times said.
The report also noted that Najib's reversal of his promise to repeal the Sedition Act was more of a "tactical move" made to appease the Umno hard-liners who have been against the idea of doing away with the law.
"Given the nature of race-based politics in Malaysia and the rallying impulses of Umno meetings, Malaysians would expect narrow party interests to dominate.
"They would also concede that Najib's reversal was a tactical one, forced upon him by the confluence of events," it said, noting that the Sedition Act was seen as an oppressive and retrogressive law by the opposition and civil society.
Najib first announced the plan to abolish the act in June 2012, to be replaced by a National Harmony Act. The Sedition Act was amended five times with the last amendment in 1975.
There have been growing calls among Pakatan Rakyat leaders, social activists and NGOs to repeal the act given that others, including academicians, activists and lawyers, apart from politicians, have been hauled up under this legislation. -http://www.msn.com

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