The
Malaysian Bar is concerned with the ongoing use of, and resort to,
sedition laws by the authorities. This is in direct contradiction to
the express recognition by the Government that the Sedition Act has long
outlived its purpose, and undermines the explicit pledge by the Prime
Minister in July 2012 to repeal this law.
The
recent furore over the investigation of a 17-year-old student for
allegedly having “liked” a Facebook page titled “I Love Israel” is a
prime example of how inappropriate the Sedition Act is and how it can be
abused. The continued existence of such a law warps the thinking of
the authorities in addressing or dealing with issues in our society.
They have a penchant to resort to the Sedition Act almost as an
unthinking and knee-jerk reaction. It should be obvious that,
irrespective of how many police reports or complaints may have been made
with respect to this incident, any investigation pursuant to the
Sedition Act is misconceived.
The
reports this week of the sedition charge against a lawyer, N Surendran,
for a press release he issued on 18 April 2014 entitled “Court of
Appeal’s Fitnah 2 written judgement is flawed, defensive and
insupportable”, provide further evidence of an unacceptable repudiation
by the authorities of the Prime Minister’s promise.
Our
judicial system is an open system where proceedings are transparent,
public and accessible (save for chamber matters or matters heard in camera
due to the special or vulnerable nature of the parties involved (such
as children), and matters of national security). Judgments in such
proceedings are pronounced in public and published, to ensure that
justice is done, and seen to be done. Such proceedings are thus subject
to public scrutiny, and judgments are subject to examination,
dissection, discussion, debate, praise, dissent and criticism. This is
an intrinsic and important aspect of our justice system, and serves in
the development of our juridical thought and as a check-and-balance of
our administration of justice.
The
Malaysian Bar has long called for the abolition of the Sedition Act as
being repressive, anachronistic and an affront to fundamental liberties.
The
Sedition Act, as with its predecessor the Sedition Ordinance, was
conceived and designed by a colonial government to stifle fundamental
rights and liberties, oppress the rakyat and deny them democratic space.
Its sole purpose was to suppress and persecute the citizenry. The
Sedition Act has no place in our nation, which aspires to be a modern
democratic society, and should be relegated to the dustbin of history.
The Prime Minister’s pledge represented a clear admission and
recognition by the Government that the Sedition Act was antiquated and
obsolete.
The
continued use of the Sedition Act in the probe with respect to the
17-year-old student and the charge against N Surendran embarrasses the
Government in that it places the Government in an invidious position of
being seriously questioned as to its sincerity in pursuing
transformation and greater civil liberties through legislative reforms.
The
Malaysian Bar strongly urges the authorities to stop the probe with
respect to the 17-year-old student and to withdraw the charge against N
Surendran. We urge them to respect the freedom of speech and assembly
as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and to resist the temptation
to resort to archaic and oppressive legislation.
Christopher Leong
President
Malaysian Bar
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