New law minister wants to liberate rakyat with reformed laws

Liew Vui Keong is no stranger to his current ministerial portfolio of de facto law minister, for he was a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department overseeing law and parliamentary affairs between 2009 and 2013.

The 58-year-old Batu Sapi parliamentarian returns to Putrajaya with a mission to liberate Malaysians from restrictive laws prohibiting them from speaking out their mind, movement and freedom to be associated with various associations.

"I want the people not to be fearful of living in this new Malaysia. This is the new Malaysia, with us out of the 60 years of rule by BN and Umno," the Batu Sapi parliamentarian told Malaysiakini in an interview yesterday.

While the permanent chairperson of Parti Warisan Sabah may not come from the Pakatan Harapan parties that pledged to abolish several draconian laws, Liew nevertheless shares Harapan's views on the need to abolish or reform these laws.

Liew, who has yet to be briefed on the full nature of the law reform process, pledged to look into, among others, the Sedition Act 1946 and Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA), to push for the possibility of the abolition or amendment of these two laws.

He particularly emphasised on the Sedition Act, which was on the list of the Malaysia Law Reform Committee (MLRC) that he chaired since 2009, but could not complete his work as he lost in the 2013 general election.

"I have come back now and I guess I would have to continue to look into the Sedition Act and make recommendations to the cabinet. I will look at it earnestly as I know that it affects the aspirations of the people, as stated in Harapan's manifesto, and (I will) recommend to the cabinet for an immediate decision," he said.

"At the same time, we need to ensure that the citizens of the country will be well protected and no party can use certain remarks against the others in this multiracial country.

"We don't want the people to use seditious remarks against the institutions of the nation, especially against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. These need to be protected," Liew explained.

MLRC was first up in 2009 when then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak pledged to relook into archaic laws and to update commercial laws, development laws and laws relating to trade and commerce.

ISA out, but Sosma came in

The committee also reviewed laws deemed to be in conflict with the Federal Constitution. MLRC had also recommended the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other related laws.

The government instead introduced the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) after repealing ISA in the same year.

However, the National Harmony Act, another new law promised by Najib to replace ISA, has not materialised despite spoken about for six years.

Liew distanced himself from Sosma, saying that MLRC's mission was to review the existing laws and that he was not in charge of proposing a new set of laws.

"When they introduced the Sosma, I was not in the picture. It eventually came to me and I was quite shocked to see the proposed law," he recalled.

He revealed that the government initially proposed for a longer detention period as compared with the maximum 28 days detention period proposed under Sosma.

"I gave my views and it was subsequently reduced to 28 days. I had said what I needed to say, but of course they had a better say as I was only a deputy minister then," he added.

Asked about the National Harmony Act, Liew said he would look into whatever that is good for the country.

Liew joined Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1991 and helmed the party from 2006 to 2014. He was then reported to have a fallout with the party leadership and he joined Parti Warisan Sabah two months before the May 9 general election.

Liew was elected as the MP for Sandakan in 2008 but lost the seat to DAP's Stephen Wong Tien Fatt in the 13th general election. He then contested and won the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat in GE14.

Besides looking into the draconian laws, Liew said the recent Kota Kinabalu magistrate's court judgment that saw two Chinese tourists being fined only RM25 each for dancing disrespectfully in front of a mosque reminded him of the need to review the Minor Offences Act 1955 as well.

It is quite a laughable for the magistrate to fine them just RM25, he said.

"There are many laws introduced during the British rule of the country. Our society has evolved since then and we need to look into such laws," he said. - Mkini