Sedition Act stays for now, says Home Ministry
PARLIAMENT | The controversial Sedition Act 1948 will neither be amended nor repealed for now, the Home Ministry said.
Responding to Kelvin Yii’s (Harapan-Bandar Kuching) question in Parliament, Deputy Home Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah reiterated the need for the law to safeguard the country’s harmony.
“Following the study, the ministry has presented a cabinet memorandum regarding the establishment of a related policy.
PARLIAMENT | The controversial Sedition Act 1948 will neither be amended nor repealed for now, the Home Ministry said.
Responding to Kelvin Yii’s (Harapan-Bandar Kuching) question in Parliament, Deputy Home Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah reiterated the need for the law to safeguard the country’s harmony.
“Following the study, the ministry has presented a cabinet memorandum regarding the establishment of a related policy.
“The cabinet has, in principle, agreed that the National Security Council (NSC) and the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD) coordinate a National Security Bill to safeguard national security from external and internal threats, including protecting the constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, and inter-religious harmony.
“Regarding the current status of the Sedition Act 1948, it will be maintained for the time being to preserve public order and national security,” he said.
Yii had asked the government to state whether it is considering either abolishing the Sedition Act or amending it to be used only against matters involving the royal institution and to prevent its misuse for other issues.
READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | A refresher on the controversial Sedition Act
In his supplementary question, the DAP lawmaker reiterated that other laws can be used to protect the country’s interests.
‘Police action often exaggerated’
Shamsul stressed that citizens are still allowed to voice their dissenting opinion on the government’s policies, but also advised the public to avoid discussing sensitive issues in the open.
“It’s better if people approach sensitive issues with more caution by not openly discussing them.
“In reality, the actions taken by the police are often exaggerated (by critics). The police are taking action to prevent these issues from spreading and reaching a point where national security is compromised,” he said.
Pakatan Harapan had pledged to review and repeal laws like the Sedition Act but has not moved towards that goal now that it is in government.
In July last year, the government agreed in principle to study amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 to ensure the legislation was only used to protect the royal institution from acts of provocation.
The Sedition Act was last amended in 2015 to make it not an offence to criticise the government, but now, almost a decade later, the amendments are still not in force.
