Speed up National Harmony Act, govt told

A law lecturer says there is no need for a new Treason Act because existing laws were adequate to protect Malay rulers.

KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government must hasten establishing the National Harmony Act, which will replace the current Sedition Act 1948

Urging the government to step up its efforts, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Law Faculty lecturer Dr Rizal Abdul Rahman said it was imperative that this is done fast to strengthen the national unity and maintain harmony in the country.

“The National Harmony Act, based on its draft, contains provisions which are more objective, and can be understood directly by society without any confusion.

“This is different from the Sedition Act whose provisions are quite subjective as they can interpreted differently by different people,” he said.

He said the accepted approach currently was that a statement which was critical in nature was not seen as sedition, except when the criticism changed into condemnation.

“The problem of being subjective, surfaces because some see criticism as condemnation and condemnation as criticism,” he said.

In July last year, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that the Sedition Act 1948 would be abolished and replaced by a new act known as the National Harmony Act.

He said the decision was made to look for a mechanism which could decide on the best balance between the need to guarantee freedom of expression of every citizen in the country and the need to defend the complexity of pluralism that existed in the country.

“With this new act, we will be better prepared to manage the national error level.

“It will also help to strengthen and protect national unity and foster religious harmony,” Najib said.

‘No need for Treason Act’

Rizal said if there were incidents of sedition or other crimes against the Malay rulers, a separate act such as a Treason Act did not have to be created because existing laws were adequate to protect the institution.

“The existing laws need only be spruced up,” he said.

Recently, former Appeals Court judge Mohd Noor Abdullah suggested that the Treason Act be created to check insults against to the Royalty institution which he said were getting serious lately.

Meanwhile, Advocate and Solicitor Wan Azmir Wan Majid said any law which amended shortcomings of previous acts must be speeded up.

“Especially nowadays many quarters seek to issue statements which are seditious in nature, so it should be nipped in the bud before it becomes worse,” he said when contacted.

Another law practitioneer Salehuddin Saidin was of the opinion that the government needed only to tighten and amend the aspects of enforcement without having to replace an existing act with another.

- Bernama