KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak defended today his government’s decision to retain the Sedition Act amid criticism that the colonial-era law is being abused to clamp down on dissenters.

The Pekan MP said the 1948 law was needed to maintain social order, especially with the advent of social media where anyone is free to make public comments that could spark racial and religious strife.

“We are concerned that such things could fuel emotional reactions.

“We care about race and religious cohesion; that is why we will try and strengthen the Sedition Act,” he told the 208^th Royal Malaysian Police Anniversary here.

The Najib administration has been widely condemned for the recent spates of sedition arrests on opposition lawmakers and activists who accused the prime minister of reneging his promise to repeal the law and improve civil liberties.

The high-profile application by of the Sedition Act by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar following its retention has further prompted further scrutiny, both at home and abroad, over Najib’s decision to keep the colonial-era law.

An active user of Twitter, Khalid regularly uses the social network to order the police to investigate individuals or groups under the law.

But his public directives have drawn allegations of selective action to target government critics such as activists and opposition lawmakers.

The Sedition Act was also used to arrest PKR MP Nurul Izzah Anwar over a speech she read on behalf of jailed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Parliament, prompting concern by opposition lawmakers that they will be muzzled even within the confines of the lower house.

Khalid also claimed that the high-profile enforcement led to a decline in instances of sedition online.

Naijb had pledged in 2012 to repeal the Sedition Act as part of his legal reforms, but announced during the Umno general assembly last year that the law will be retained and further expanded.