Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Don't we still need the Sedition Act 1948?

No turning back for Najib's plan for Sedition and IS Acts?

Killed a good few hours yesterday with DR, a young, up-and-coming Umno politician at Fast Bikes in PJ, where the knowledgeable motorcycling crowd congregates to talk cock and politics. DR is not a medical doctor, it's his initial; but like The Doctor this young man whose dad was a Minister in Dr M, Pak Lah and Najib's Cabinets has been known to ride fast and furious. He was most keen to know about the proposed amendments to the Sedition Act which I said I would share in the sequel to my posting  Do we still need the Sedition Act?. 
Why so interested? Ah, he said the Umno meetings in the run-up to the party's annual general assembly have made ISA and Sedition Act their main issues. "That's all the sayaps (wings) have been talking about." Which means that without doubt, the Prime Minsiter and Umno President's plan to amend (repeal?) the Sedition Act 1948 will take centrestage during the assembly next month. The plan might even face stiff challenge there. 
The ground swell against the said proposal to amend the Sedition Act has grown tremendously over the last few weeks to counter the movement that wants Najib Razak not to amend the Act but abolish it altogether. I say, "Cool". But I also bet most of these guys don't even know what the proposed amendments are. It's a combination of them not caring to know and the government apparatus that's supposed to inform the public about such things NOT doing their job properly. 
People need to be informed 
1. if the Act is going to be (a) amended (b) repealed 
2. if (a) what are the proposed amendments 
3. if (b) what is the substitute Act 
4. what (a) or (b) will do for us as a nation 
The little that the knowledgeable crowd at Fast Bikes know or think they know is:
1. The Sedition Act will be amended not abolished
2. The amendments are minimal, affecting "one or two matters only", according to someone who is close to the A-G Chamber
3. The A-G himself believes in the Sedition Act, which is why he has been charging people under that Act, although like I said in my previous posting his office should have been more circumspect with the Azmi-Loone duo
4. The proposed amendmends will provide room for criticisms against the government and the court of law and even its sometimes learned judges
5. Some politicians have been clamouring for the position of Islam as as the religion of the Federation, as stated in the Constitution, to be amended. Can't touch this. The AG, I hear, has proposed to amend the Akta Hasutan to give protection to the Constitutional provision of Islam as religion of the Federation. 
There you have it! But that's me saying it. The relevant authorities should be saying it. The Prime Minister should tell us about what he and the AG have up their sleeves. 
Even Sabahans think Sedition Act is still relevant
Personally, I'm sorry to say that I believe Malaysians are NOT ready to do away with the Sedition Act, just as they are not ready to deal with freedom of expression, the Press, etc. 
Those who say they are ready are usually the ones less so; when they find themselves at the receiving end of a liberal and free debate, they resort to suing you of a hundred million ringgit! 
Those among us who are most tolerant are also the most ciscumspect about the matter. A Sabahan Minister I met said while he believes that Sabahans are generally more tolerant and 1Malayaian than their fellow Malaysians from the other States, "I don't think even we Sabahans are ready for a no-holds-barred socio-political environment that will be created once there is no Sedition Act".  
"It will lead us to chaos," the Minister told us. 

10 comments:

  1. Its like the fast and furious. Follow the technical specs when do modification. The right bike, the recommended choice, the safe circuit. Wont it a controlled racing environment that comply with the world standard ?

    What Najib is doing, buy a kapcai, to modify suits his own taste, syncronise dream of the full specs jaggers, to win the 1st place. The problem is that he is not the racer !

    What then ? So its best to keep the full specs machine since to train for the best professional riders that remember all the rules and regulation.

    Islam, view che det - khalifah.

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  2. tebing tinggi1:21 pm

    Those rakyat who understand the outcome circumstances without this protection law will rather to do away with people who want to abolish it's ,rather the the laws itself .
    We have abolished ISA ,peace and harmony are priceless .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rempahman2:24 pm

    How far this is true i have no idea..

    http://hakbersuara.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/those-against-sedition-act-dont-think/

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  4. Anonymous7:42 pm

    More bullshit from you as usual.This act is there forthe sole purpose of preserving DUMBNO's hagemony and to perpetuate their regime.
    It has nothing to do with Islam and preserving the constitution which BTW has been chnaged so many times just like how diapers are changed.
    Mahatir says melayus are Lazy and are thieves it's ok. PM calling malays haram jadah it's ok. Bathing keris with chinese blood its ok. Insulting hinduism ok. None of these is deemend to be seditious.
    So enough of bull shit from you.

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    Replies
    1. Be a bull then shit around. Thats the expression ? Focus to ur own being, what u see ? Dont just simply condemn others.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:46 am

      When was your last visit to the shrink? You self-righteous cow!

      Delete
  5. Anonymous2:02 pm

    Latuk,

    The main function of the 'Sedation' Act is to make sure your owners can keep stealing enuff money to throw you some scraps.

    If you actually had any dignity to sell...well, that time is long past, kan?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10:39 pm

    We have to ensure that our Sedition Act is left intact. Thanks to the Brits for their foresight. Our population has a long way to develop and become mature. We are still in the infantile stage where we enjoy being manipulated and taken for a ride. One such example is the purported grabbing of power to become PM on September 16 2008. Well many in the public sphere believed and we were waiting. The list the Malaysian publics' naivety and gullibility just goes on and on. That clearly shows that the Malaysian public is malleable and will believe all claims and rumours that come in all forms be it a so called academic piece or some kind of sly news portal reporting or even blogs. Another recent instance of the need for the Sedition Act is the Kajang Tango episode - there were all sorts of comments/remarks/analysis veering towards sedition if not seditious. This Kajang Tango also showed out some professional commentators and academics for what they truly are - dishonest and insincere. They went at length to query the due process for the appointment of a Mentri Besar and at the same time fell silent about the coup carried out against a sitting Mentri Besar in front of the whole Worlds eyes. These so called learned people seem to not be objective and unbiased. If the learned class are such what more the ordinary Joe public who has access to the Net etc to publish hate, venom and lies. Do we want to unleash the devil or do we want law & order where Malaysians are aware of limits to their free speech since there would be dire consequences otherwise.

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  7. why should the sedition act be a problem except to those who are against it. them dumb enough to act

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  8. Anonymous1:05 am

    DR = DINO RAIS?

    ReplyDelete