Time to repeal draconian colonial-era laws, Ramkarpal tells govt after PM's UiTM speech

 

Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh has urged the government to review restrictive pre-Merdeka laws after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently said such legislation should be scrapped.

The DAP national legal bureau chairperson said now is the time to do so, and this should be done as part of the government’s reform agenda.

“In light of the prime minister’s comments at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), perhaps it is time for a comprehensive study of all colonial-era or pre-Merdeka laws to be undertaken, with a view to their abolition or amendment, as part of the government’s reform agenda,” he said in a statement today.

He added that such a move should receive bipartisan support.

During the Sahabat Madani 2026 Merdeka programme at UiTM Permatang Pauh yesterday, Anwar said: “Colonial-era laws must be abolished so that this country can give true meaning to independence.”

However, the prime minister did not mention any specific laws.

‘Scrap the Sedition Act’

Ramkarpal said the Sedition Act 1948 should be among the laws considered for repeal, describing it as an “archaic, outdated, and draconian British legacy”.

He pointed out that the law had been criticised for restricting legitimate freedom of speech and is often wielded as a political weapon.

Ramkarpal also highlighted that an accused person’s intention is irrelevant in determining an offence under the Sedition Act if the statement in question carries a seditious tendency as defined by law.

“As such, a person may legitimately believe that there is a basis to his words, but if they carry seditious tendencies as defined under the Act, their belief is irrelevant,” he said.

The former deputy law minister noted that the United Kingdom abolished its sedition laws in 2009, while Singapore repealed its Sedition Act in 2021.

He further quoted Anwar’s remarks that the colonial British administration enacted the Sedition Act to remain in power.

“Nearly seven decades after independence, the Madani government now has an opportunity to do a lot better by repealing the Sedition Act altogether, as it has no place in our beloved nation today, and I urge the government to do so in line with Pakatan Harapan’s long-standing commitment to abolish the law,” stressed Ramkarpal.

Ramkarpal said other pre-Merdeka legislation, including the Evidence Act, Penal Code and Civil Law Act 1956, should also be reviewed, with outdated provisions repealed or updated to reflect present-day realities such as the growing influence of artificial intelligence.

‘Only Parliament can repeal laws’

Ramkarpal also said that although the Federal Court is empowered to strike down or modify pre-Merdeka laws, such legislation will remain in force until Parliament explicitly repeals or amends them.

Furthermore, he said, the apex court’s powers are only invoked when applications are brought before the court.

“In other words, in the absence of such applications, these pre-Merdeka laws continue to remain in force after Merdeka until they are explicitly repealed or amended by Parliament,” he said. - Mkini