PKR think tank finds Sedition Act revisions ‘tailor-made’ to target opposition

A PKR think tank finds the Sedition Act amendments passed by Dewan Rakyat recently tailored to restrict dissenting voices and opposition politicians. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 21, 2015.

Putrajaya's amendments to the Sedition Act is tailored to bring down opposition leaders and dissenting voices of civil society, Institut Rakyat today said, adding that such measures were to help the federal government to consolidate its authority and single-party rule.

Yin Shao Loong, director of the PKR think-tank, said that the government has had a "well-established" track record of abusing sedition and anti-terrorism legislation to suppress activists, politicians, students, academics, preachers and even comedians.

"The 2015 amendments to the Sedition Act are clearly tailored to those dissenting voices investigated or charged since 2013. Institut Rakyat finds at least seven instances of such tailoring to stiffen penalties, restrictions, and liability for recent cases of sedition," he said.

"Charges under the amended Sedition Act may be pressed at a strategic time ahead of the next general election, which is expected to be by 2018 latest."

The think tank today released a report titled, "The Sedition (Amendment) Bill 2015: Context & Implications" to point out the amendments and underline its implications to Malaysia.

Yin said that the amended draconian law could easily be used to thin the ranks of the opposition in Parliament for two to five election cycles, with a period of 10 to 25 years.

"This will put a strain on the talent pool of opposition politics, as well as make it a calling only for those willing risk their liberty and a 10th of their lives exiled from political office.

"Introducing such a chill factor into opposition politics will increase the level of single-party dominance in Malaysia and consolidate authoritarianism."

Amendments to the colonial-era law were passed in the Dewan Rakyat on April 10 after more than 12 hours of heated debate by a vote of 108 to 79.

Enhancements to the Act comes three years after prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised to repeal the controversial law but reneged in November last year at the Umno general assembly under pressure from Malay supremacists in the party.

The amendments did away with fines and imposed a jail term of between three and seven years, as well as up to 20 years’ jail for seditious acts or statements that led 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 Act now empowers the court to order removal of seditious material on the Internet.

The changes also specify what is seditious, removing criticism of the government or the administration of justice as something seditious, and makes promoting hatred between different religions an offence.

"Rather than being an improvement, the amendments represent a further setback to democratic consolidation in Malaysia as they threaten the participation of civil society in social issues, and represent a threat of mass incarceration for opposition politicians," Yin said.

This would ultimately weaken Malaysia’s capacity to mature as a democracy, Yin warned, as it would provide a hostile environment to the conduct of democracy and accountability of government.

"The restrictions on free speech established by the old and new Sedition Act have serious consequences for the conduct of opposition politics and civil society in Malaysia.

"Opposition politicians and civil society activists frequently comment on such issues since they shape broader currents of policy and the national question, particularly the issue of inclusion. The Sedition Act places such commentaries in legal jeopardy."

Institut Rakyat's 2015 report found that the amendments to the Sedition Act seemed to follow a pattern established by the Najib administration since the Peaceful Assembly Act of 2012, where legislation restricting civil liberties have been bundled with "superficially progressive" provisions.

"This has allowed the government to present such measures as improvements and reforms rather than refurbishment and rebranding.

"This has been part of a political strategy to recapture liberal sentiment, on the one hand, and bolster overseas perception of Malaysia as a ‘moderate Muslim’ state, on the other.

"The need to maintain the latter status may have ceased since Malaysia secured a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council effective 2015," the report read.

- TMI