KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 — MCA’s youth wing today urged the government to move faster to repeal the controversial Sedition Act and offered to help draft a new bill to replace it.

MCA Youth Legal Bureau Chairman Choo Wei Sern said the guilty verdict against DAP Chairman Karpal Singh for charges under the Sedition Act for voicing his opinion over the 2009 removal of the former Perak Mentri Besar by the Sultan of Perak was a stark reminder that the draconian law is still in use, despite the prime minister’s promise to repeal the controversial law.

“We are reminded that the prime minister had, by promising to repeal the Sedition Act, impliedly admitted that the said law is archaic, draconian and not suitable for modern time.

“Given the Prime Minister's promise in 2012, it is not right for the police to use the said law to investigate anyone, let alone for the Attorney-General to continue prosecuting an individual under the sedition law.

“It is therefore our hope that the Prime Minister, the de facto Law Minister and the Attorney-General's Chambers will speed up the efforts to repeal the Sedition Act,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday, the KL High Court found Karpal guilty of committing sedition for saying that the Sultan of Perak’s 2009 decision to replace the state’s mentri besar could be challenged in a court of law.

Judge Datuk Paduka Azman Abdullah ruled that he failed to raise reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case at the end his defence.

Choo said MCA Youth is willing to work alongside the government on the law that will replace the Sedition Act so that the new law conforms with international practices and is suitable with modern times, “to not only eradicate but also severely penalise racial and religious extremists who are harming the peace and harmony we have shared, and still sharing, for many years”.

“We are of the view that this should be carried out immediately by the Government, especially at this point in time where certain quarters are trying to fan hatred amongst the different communities that leads to an unhealthy, tensed situation in this country,” he said.