Parti Sosialis Malaysia's (PSM) Youth wing has asked if the prime minister is attempting to set a record as the 'Sedition King' with the recent spate of charges under the Sedition Act 1948.

“Since Aug 19, Prime Minister Najib Razak ihas been setting the record as ‘Sedition King’ by making 10 arrests under the Sedition Act in a span of just 26 days.

“Among those held include student activists, academics, lawyers, religious leaders, and politicians. What is the government’s true motive?” said PSM Socialist Youth chief KS Bawani (right) in a statement today.

She urged Najib to stop all arrests under the draconian law and abolish it as he had promised on several occasions.

PSM also pledged support for the youth-led anti-Sedition Act group Gerakan Anak Muda Hapuskan Akta Hasutan (Hasut).

“These people (who have been arrested or charged under the Sedition Act) are not thieves, robbers, nor murderers, they merely spoke up.

“The government has forgotten that this is an old tactic to frighten the people ,especially the youth and the students, (but) the more oppressive they get, the more people would come forward to speak up,” Bawani said.

Najib pledged in 2012 that the Sedition Act would be replaced by the National Harmony Act, which has been drafted and is with the Attorney-General’s (AG) Chambers.

However, in an apparent pirouette, the PM said yesterday that the government is not in a hurry to repeal the Act and has yet to decide whether to amend or repeal it.