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Friday, April 10, 2015

PAKATAN OUTNUMBERED! Sedition Act amendments passed after heated debate

PAKATAN OUTNUMBERED! Sedition Act amendments passed after heated debate
After more than 12 hours of heated debate, Dewan Rakyat passed amendments to the Sedition Act at 2.30am today, three years after prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised to repeal the controversial law.
The amendments, which critics said would make the law more draconian, were passed by a vote of 108 to 79.
All but seven Pakatan Rakyat MPs showed up to block the changes, which among others remove criticism of the government or the administration of justice as something seditious, and make promoting hatred between different religions an offence.
The amendments also do away with fines, with a jail term of between three to seven years, as well as up to 20 years imprisonment for seditious acts or statements that lead to bodily harm and property damage.
There is also no leniency for first time and youthful offenders, who can be automatically slapped a minimum three-year sentence.
The court can now empower the court to order the removal of seditious material on the internet.
Opposition MPs had mounted a fierce campaign to stop the changes, saying the law was open to abuse due to vagueness of the term sedition.
Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo argued that an important ingredient of any criminal law was that a crime must be specific.
“A crime needs to be specific so that people know that it is a crime and they know that they can be punished if they commit it. Leaving it open allows for abuse,” he saod.
Other PR lawmakers failed in their attempt to get Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to spell out the kinds of speech or acts considered seditious.
“To this moment, the home minister cannot give a specific example of what is considered seditious or how action will be taken, so we can be clear what we should avoid,” said Gombak MP Azmin Ali.
Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming said that under the act, an offender cannot claim lack of intent to cause hostility or ill will as a defence.
The fact that a statement is true, despite the fact that it causes ill will, was also not a defence, said Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng.
Zahid later told reporters that calls for secession could also be considered seditious.
“It is up to the interpretation and definition of the court (whether it is seditious),” he added. – TMI

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