Sedition Act: the one law to rule them all?

Government leaders say the Sedition Act is necessary to prevent chaos and maintain harmony in Malaysia. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, September 26, 2014.

In his own words, Senator Datuk Paul Low went to the lion's den yesterday and bravely defended the government line about the necessity of the Sedition Act to prevent chaos in Malaysia.

"Some are insecure while others are aggressive. How do you maintain harmony?" he said in response to a question by former Bar Council chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, at the International Malaysia Law Conference in Kuala Lumpur on whether the colonial-era law should be repealed.

Low, who was with four others in a panel discussion, also refuted allegations that the government was trying to instil fear or prevent people from being critical of the establishment.

He said there must be social justice and no impunity against those who break the law.

"We will use this law to stop anyone from making remarks that incite violence and hatred in our society," he added, saying there must be a line between exercising free and responsible speech, and causing chaos in society.

Low, like most if not all of his cabinet colleagues, is speaking in a vacuum and at best, treating Malaysians like Primary 1 schoolkids, or at worst, backward people who will take to arms at the slightest provocation.

Is the Sedition Act the magic law to rule them all? Are there no other laws to ensure peace and harmony in Malaysia? And what constitutes sedition these days?

While it is commendable for a cabinet minister to turn up at a law conference, it is really insulting for him to come to a forum and give stock answers about a law that has been further strengthened after Merdeka.

What did professor Azmi Sharom say that threatens the country's harmony? Why are the police investigating a lawyer who said that non-Malays are not covered by shariah laws?

Has there been an uprising thus far caused by those charged with sedition? Did the student activists incite people to the streets although they were charged way after they had allegedly committed the offence?

We have 35 ministers in the cabinet, some of whom like Low are not in any party, but it is galling that these people are just offering the party line.

Malaysia is all the poorer as long as the government thinks it must treat the people like little children. We are not. And we can think and discern between right and wrong.

- TMI