MALAYSIA-SEDITION Malaysia to retain and prop up sedition act, Prime Minister says

Record ID: 862263

  • Title: MALAYSIA-SEDITION Malaysia to retain and prop up sedition act, Prime Minister says
  • Date: 27th November 2014
  • Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (NOVEMBER 27, 2014) (REUTERS) MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK DELIVERING HIS SPEECH DURING UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY AUDIENCE SITTING DURING SPEECH VARIOUS OF PARTY MEMBERS SITTING DURING SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Malaysia) MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK SAYING: "As Prime Minister, I ruled that sedition act (1948) shall remain." AUDIENCE STANDING AND CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Malaysia) MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK SAYING: "This act will not only be maintained, but strengthened. At least two items: there will be a special clause to protect the sanctity of Islam, while other religions also cannot be insulted." AUDIENCE CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Malaysia) MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER NAJIB RAZAK SAYING: "Secondly, we will insert a clause so that action is taken against anyone who calls for the cessation of Sabah and Sarawak." AUDIENCE MEMBERS STANDING AND CLAPPING VARIOUS OF NAJIB AT PODIUM AND PARTY OFFICIALS STANDING ON STAGE WITH FISTS IN THE AIR
  • Embargoed: 12th December 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • City:
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9FIW2STI3396L6O3D6755TBHO
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  • Story Text: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday (November 27) bolstered a law protecting the sanctity of Islam and the country's traditional rulers, the sultans, in an about-turn to scrap a law banning criticism of the government.
    Najib pledged in 2012 to repeal the Sedition Act - a relic of the British colonial era intended to keep a tight lid on racial tensions and social unrest in the multi-ethnic country - as part of a raft of liberal reforms to promote openness.
    The Malaysian leader told a meeting of his ruling United Malays National Party (UMNO) party that the act would be maintained and strengthened.
    "As Prime Minister, I ruled that the Sedition Act (1948) shall remain", Najib said.
    "This act will not only be maintained, but strengthened. At least two items: there will be a special clause to protect the sanctity of Islam, while other religions also cannot be insulted."
    "Secondly, we will insert a clause so that action is taken against anyone who calls for the cessation of Sabah and Sarawak," he added.
    Rights groups and lawyers have criticised the 1948 Sedition Act, which criminalizes speech with an undefined "seditious tendency", saying it inhibits freedom of speech.
    In a flurry of cases this year, Malaysian prosecutors have charged anti-government activists and opposition politicians with sedition. Out of more than a dozen prosecutions under the Act this year, at least five have centered on comments voiced about the sultans or their powers.
    The three-party opposition, which has eroded the ruling coalition's majority in two straight elections, says the Sedition Act is being employed selectively against its members, allies and social activists to undermine the alliance.
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