NAJIB IS A LIAR! Student groups demand explanation on Sedition U-turn

Mahasiswa GANYANG Akta Hasutan is astonished by the Prime Minister’s sudden decision at the UMNO General Assembly to renege on his pledge to repeal the Sedition Act. This undesirable U-turn is made worse by his decision to ‘fortify and strengthen’ the Act instead.

The spike in sedition probes, arrests, charges and conviction in recent times mirrors nothing but an unplugged attempt at the Prime Minister’s transformation programme. Instead of carrying on with the many promises and programmes designed to transform Malaysia into a modern, democratic and progressive nation, his administration is still reliant on the party’s right wing support.

Such false democratic credentials deserve nothing but a backlash from voters in the coming General Elections. Prime Minister Najib Razak must be reminded he has repeatedly promised to abolish the Sedition Act and must be made accountable for promises made to the Malaysian public.

Why not discussed at Cabinet

In the Prime Minister’s speech at the UMNO General Assembly yesterday, he alleged that the need for the Sedition Act was to protect Islam and other religions, and to address those flaming the recession of East Malaysia.

This is a complete lie intended to mislead the Malaysian public, especially the Muslim community.

It is no secret that the Sedition Act has been used in bad faith, targeting dissidents and voices of discontent. Opposition Members of Parliament, lawyers, academics, students, activists and religious leaders have been victims of the draconian Act. A law professor was charged for giving opinions on the Perak Constitutional Crisis; An alternative media journalist was harassed for covering and reporting a news in Penang. Now are these a threat to Islam?

What was also shocking was the announcement made in the UMNO General Assembly. Shouldn’t such decisions be discussed and debated in Parliament or in Cabinet meetings? It seems to suggest that government policies are dictated solely by political leaders from UMNO alone.

Mahasiswa GANYANG therefore urges the Prime Minister to be accountable to his promise to repeal the Sedition Act and respect the spirit of democracy in Malaysia.

Mahasiswa GANYANG reiterates our demands that the Sedition Act must be abolished, all existing charges must be dropped and those incarcerated must be released, there shall be no replacement act with similar undemocratic provisions and lastly, return academic freedom to learning institutions.

Mahasiswa GANYANG is a coalition of 20 student bodies across 10 public and private learning institutions in Malaysia.