Emergency motion on Sedition Act rejected
Ram AnandPublished: Jun 27, 2013 2:26 PM | Updated: Jun 27, 2013 8:28 PM
PARLIAMENT Another motion for emergency debate, this one calling for the abolishment of the Sedition Act 1948 that the government promised to drop two years ago, has been rejected by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.
PARLIAMENT Another motion for emergency debate, this one calling for the abolishment of the Sedition Act 1948 that the government promised to drop two years ago, has been rejected by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.
PAS' Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin had tabled the motion on Tuesday, under Standing Orders 18(1) and (2) and Pandikar rejected it today on grounds that it was not an urgent matter for debate.
Hanipa (right) in the motion raised selective persecution under the Sedition Act against certain opposition leaders and civil rights activists, despite the government having proposed to abolish this law and replace it with a National Harmony Act.
"The speaker did admit that the matter was of importance, but said that it does not require urgency," Hanipa said at a press conference later.
He said that the government's continuous use of the Sedition Act destroyed the "legitimate expectations" of the people not to be charged under this law any longer.
"This law has been there since 1948. We are using a law from colonial times," Hanipa said.
He had argued in his motion that the move to abolish the Act should be expedited because BN does not seem to want to "fulfil its promise" to abolish the Sedition Act.
PAS vice-president Husam Musa, PKR vice-president Tian Chua, PAS' Tamrin Ghafar, along with activists such as Adam Adli and Haris Ibrahim, have all been investigated under the Sedition Act since the May 5 general election.
PAS' Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin had tabled the motion on Tuesday, under Standing Orders 18(1) and (2) and Pandikar rejected it today on grounds that it was not an urgent matter for debate.
Hanipa (right) in the motion raised selective persecution under the Sedition Act against certain opposition leaders and civil rights activists, despite the government having proposed to abolish this law and replace it with a National Harmony Act."The speaker did admit that the matter was of importance, but said that it does not require urgency," Hanipa said at a press conference later.
He said that the government's continuous use of the Sedition Act destroyed the "legitimate expectations" of the people not to be charged under this law any longer.
"This law has been there since 1948. We are using a law from colonial times," Hanipa said.
He had argued in his motion that the move to abolish the Act should be expedited because BN does not seem to want to "fulfil its promise" to abolish the Sedition Act.
PAS vice-president Husam Musa, PKR vice-president Tian Chua, PAS' Tamrin Ghafar, along with activists such as Adam Adli and Haris Ibrahim, have all been investigated under the Sedition Act since the May 5 general election.
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