Crushing dissent in name of public order

Last week, I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on the Sedition Act and freedom of expression in an event organised by the Amnesty International Malaysia.

In today’s column, I decided to share what I have talked about.

Well, the Sedition Act needs no further introduction. The Sedition Act was enacted by the British colonial government in 1948 to combat communists.

Amnesty International has long expressed concerns about Malaysia’s Sedition Act, which has been used in the past to criminalise opposition activism and voices critical of the government.

Today, the Sedition Act is a law that tells you what not to do. Basically, it applies to any act, speech, words or publications.

For example, Zunar the cartoonist was charged last month with nine counts of sedition. This is believed to be the highest number of charges faced by an individual under the act.

Last year, my colleague Dr Azmi Sharom was charged under the Sedition Act over his comments in a news article on Perak crisis.

The question is what is considered seditious and who determines what amounts to sedition.

That opens up a valid debate that the authorities have the freedom and power to actually decide what is deemed seditious from their point of view.

We can be put behind bars for opinions or views that they deemed detrimental to the country’s peace and harmony.

Having said that, the worry lies with the arbitrariness of deciding what is actually seditious.

We have heard so much about how “unique” Malaysia is because of our diversity in races and religions.

In such case, I think the Sedition Act in Malaysia is “unique” too, why is it so?

First, it is not really “our” law, it is a colonial-era law.

Second, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called for the abolishment in July 2012, and over the last few years have given numerous assurances that the act would be repealed.

But in 2014, we were shocked with the prime minister’s decision to actually strengthen the act.

Third, the amendments to Sedition Act were passed on early April 10 at 2.30am after it was debated for 12 hours.

One key point that I would like to make is that, the amendments now also threaten freedom of expression online.

This is because the act now empowers the court to order seditious material removed from online sources and they can also make an order to bar a person who has published seditious material from using electronic devices.

I believe this is a core concern for all of us, which directly impacted upon us in today’s information age.

The government authorities have frequently claimed that freedom of expression is not absolute and has its limits.

I do agree that freedom of expression is not absolute, but what the government misses is that the limits imposed must be legitimate.

It must be legitimate in the sense that they must be comprehensively defined and provided by law. Apart from that, it must also be the least restrictive form of limit.

Crushing dissent in the name of public order is simply “uncool” and a cowardly act. – May 25, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.