PETALING JAYA, April 17 ― Putrajaya must protect the opposition’s right to freedom of speech and basic liberties when implementing the revised Sedition Act 1948, US ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Y. Yun said today.

Yun said Washington has reminded Malaysia many times that free speech is pivotal in a democracy, noting that this should also include preserving the right of the opposition to campaign freely.

“We have said [a] number of times that freedom of speech have to be protected and so on.

“And now going forward, we hope that it would be implemented in such a way that it would protect basic freedom, freedom of the opposition on the political side,” Yun said at a press conference after attending a dialogue session with local and international students here.

The US Department of State said Wednesday that the new provisions in the Sedition Act could end up criminalising public debate, while also urging Malaysia to reconsider sedition charges brought under the sections of the law that have been removed in the amendments.

Amendments to the colonial-era law that were passed in the lower house of Parliament last week decriminalise criticisms against the government and the judiciary.

The amendments, however, also now make it an offence to excite “ill will, hostility or hatred” on religious grounds, while maintaining prohibitions on sparking such sentiments on racial grounds or exciting disaffection against the rulers.

Several opposition lawmakers and even a cartoonist were investigated or charged under the Sedition Act this year over remarks critical of the Federal Court’s February 10 verdict that sentenced Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to five years’ jail for sodomy.

Critics have accused the government of using the Sedition Act to quell dissent, as the sedition dragnet has seen lawyers, opposition lawmakers, activists and even journalists being investigated, charged or convicted under the law last year.

The European Union (EU) also told Putrajaya Wednesday that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are necessary in a democracy, as it voiced concern over the proposed amendments to the Sedition Act.

An EU spokesman said Putrajaya’s decision to strengthen the colonial-era law, instead of repealing it as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced back in 2012, could affect freedom of expression in the country.