KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 ― Malaysians have no reason to fear the controversial amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 if they have no intention to commit sedition crimes, Utusan Malaysia said today.

The Umno-owned daily insisted the expanded version of the colonial-era law would greatly benefit Malaysians, despite concerns raised by detractors over the law’s openness to abuse.

Awang Selamat, the Malay-language paper’s collective editorial voice, claimed there is no cause for worry nor should it be used as political capital, stressing that the purpose of the Act is to preserve harmony and national security.

“This Act is also a warning to any party or individual from raising racial issues or touching on sensitivities of any religion especially through social media,” it said in its regular column.

Awang Selamat said while there were claims that the definition of “seditious tendencies” would pave the way for abuse of the colonial-era law, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had given his guarantee that the authorities will only act on cases with solid evidence.

“Anyway, what is there to be afraid of if we do not have the intention to incite? Awang ― hates provocateurs,” read the column.

Parliament had in the early hours of Friday morning passed amendments to the Act on a simple majority vote after more than 12 hours of debate despite fierce resistance from the opposition bench.

The amendments, once approved by the Senate and subsequently gazetted, will allow for criticism of the government to “create transparent and accountable administration” amid widespread opprobrium over its use on political dissenters.

It, however, makes it an offence to excite “ill will, hostility or hatred” on grounds of religion and race as well as to demand the secession of a state from Malaysia, while maintaining the prohibitions towards exciting disaffection against the rulers or questioning issues such as Bumiputera privileges.

The Act also now includes a new section that imposes a penalty of between five and 20 years jail for sedition crimes that cause bodily harm or property damage, while it increases the jail term for general sedition crimes to between three and seven years.

Prior to the amendments, the colonial-era law imposed a maximum three-year jail term or maximum RM5,000 fine on first time offenders, and a maximum five-year jail term for repeat offenders.

Another new section states that a judge shall order the prevention of access to an online publication deemed to be seditious.

Up to 150 opposition leaders and activists have been hauled up under the Sedition Act recently.

Putrajaya previously pledged to repeal the Sedition Act that critics say is used to stifle political opposition and dissent, but later announced in November last year that it will be retained and expanded instead.