Sedition Act amendments passed in wee hours
The Sedition Act (Amendment) Bill was passed after a gruelling 12-hour debate at 2.30am Friday through voice vote.
There is no tally of MPs who voted for or against the vote as there was no request for bloc voting.
The Sedition Act (Amendment) Bill was passed with amendments after a gruelling 12-hour debate at 2.30am Friday through voice vote.
There is no tally of MPs who voted for or against the bill in the final vote as there was no request for bloc voting.
This is the third time bills are passed past midnight this week.
The motion to stop the clock was tabled at 11.57PM by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim, and was seconded by Deputy Works Minister Rosnah Shirlin.
"It is a step in the wrong direction […] it will definitely have a bad impact on freedom of speech," Ramkarpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) (right) told Malaysiakini in an immediate reaction after the bill's passing.
The opposition fought the bill every step of the way, but lost in a game of numbers.
The second reading was passed 109 to 79 votes.
The seven Pakatan MPs absent during committee stage debate are Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS-Marang), Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Bharu), Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) Liew Chin Tong (DAP-Kluang), Fuziah Salleh (PKR-Kuantan), Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin (PKR-Bukit Katil) and Sivarasa Rasiah (PKR-Subang).
Amendments tabled by Opposition bench members, including Hanipa Maidin (PAS-Serdang), G Manivanan (PKR-Kapar) and Ramkarpal (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) to put in strict definitions and safeguards against abuse, were defeated by voice vote.
The amendments passed were tabled by the government.
Crucial amendments include reinstating the court's discretion to grant bail and the imposition of a minimum three-year jail term, instead of five years as per the first reading of the bill.
Other changes are replacing the offence of
importing" seditious publications with the offence of "propagating" seditious publications.
The government also has withdrawn an illustration on the definition "secession sedition", but the amendment for such an offence stays.
The illustration that was deleted read: "A excites a person or a group of persons to demand for the secession of state B from Malaysia. Such act is seditious."
The original illustration was placed in the initial bill was "to make clear" that the act of exciting a person on secession is seditious.
The amendments were introduced after the bill was deferred yesterday following protests from both BN and opposition MPs.
No definitions
Earlier while winding up the second reading of the bill at about 10PM, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was repeatedly hammered to give clear definitions about what is seditious.
This includes whether or not holding a referendum on whether Sabah and Sarawak should secede from Malaysia falls under the act.
Zahid (below) , however, gave vague answers after each question, before saying it is for the courts to interpret the act.
"The definitions (of sedition) are quite wide […] so let the courts define it," he said.
He had also told lawmakers the Sedition Act will be used as a pre-emptive measure.
"Before the fire spreads, we have to take pre-emptive action. This is not a threat, this is something I as a minister will do," he said.
The Sediton Act amendments bill offers a mixed bag of greater freedoms and punishments.
Criticising the government and judiciary is no longer seditious, but there are harsher punishments, including a maximum 20-year jail sentence for offenders.
Besides this, youthful and first time offenders who do cause harm or damage will not get any leniency in the courts, and must be jailed for a minimum of three years.
An earlier version of the bill also included a no-bail clause, but was removed today after opposition from both BN and Pakatan MPs.
The amendments also allows the government to block any electronic media deemed to have seditious content.
The bill came to be, after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak made a U-turn on his promise to abolish the Sedition Act, and instead announced plans to strengthen the bill during last year's Umno general assembly.
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