The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) today insisted the slew of sedition charges against opposition leaders was a court matter and the government has nothing to do with it.
"Any charges under the Sedition Act are a matter for the courts. Malaysia’s judiciary is independent, as the verdicts of many cases prove," the PMO said in a statement today.
The PMO appeared to be responding to growing criticism that Putrajaya was sliding back to its authoritarian ways after at least four opposition leaders were charged under the Sedition Act 1948 in the past week, and several more currently being probed under the same law.
However, the PMO was insistent that despite the charging spree, the colonial era Sedition Act will still be replaced by the National Harmony Bill.
"The government welcomes feedback from all sections of society, and hopes to present the draft Bill to Parliament by the end of next year.
"Until new legislation is in place, existing cases must be tried under existing laws," it said.
The PMO said the drafting of the replacement Bill was taking time as it is being carried out in consultation with civil society and the public.
It acknowledged the recommendations of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) for the Bill which has been subjected to fierce criticism from right wing groups, and said the matter was being studied.
"Like other countries, we are working to find the right balance between freedom of speech and national harmony in the age of the online media," he said.
Yesterday, police quizzed Johor PKR vice chairperson Hassan Karim under the Sedition Act for criticising the Selangor sultan's handling of the state's constitutional crisis.
On Thursday, PKR's Padang Serai MP N Surendran was charged with sedition for the second time in nine days for claiming the existence of a political conspiracy to jail the party's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
[More to follow]
"Any charges under the Sedition Act are a matter for the courts. Malaysia’s judiciary is independent, as the verdicts of many cases prove," the PMO said in a statement today.
The PMO appeared to be responding to growing criticism that Putrajaya was sliding back to its authoritarian ways after at least four opposition leaders were charged under the Sedition Act 1948 in the past week, and several more currently being probed under the same law.However, the PMO was insistent that despite the charging spree, the colonial era Sedition Act will still be replaced by the National Harmony Bill.
"The government welcomes feedback from all sections of society, and hopes to present the draft Bill to Parliament by the end of next year.
"Until new legislation is in place, existing cases must be tried under existing laws," it said.
The PMO said the drafting of the replacement Bill was taking time as it is being carried out in consultation with civil society and the public.
It acknowledged the recommendations of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) for the Bill which has been subjected to fierce criticism from right wing groups, and said the matter was being studied.
"Like other countries, we are working to find the right balance between freedom of speech and national harmony in the age of the online media," he said.
Yesterday, police quizzed Johor PKR vice chairperson Hassan Karim under the Sedition Act for criticising the Selangor sultan's handling of the state's constitutional crisis.
On Thursday, PKR's Padang Serai MP N Surendran was charged with sedition for the second time in nine days for claiming the existence of a political conspiracy to jail the party's de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
[More to follow]
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