KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Lawmakers must have the freedom to debate any contentious issue in the Dewan Rakyat without fearing the Sedition Act, Bersih 2.0 said today following news of Nurul Izzah Anwar’s detention over a parliamentary speech.

The electoral watchdog said although there are acceptable limits to free speech, restrictions should not be imposed on federal lawmakers when they are deliberating issues of public concern in Parliament.

“Parliamentarians’ immunity must be protected,” the coalition said in a press statement.

The group added that Nurul Izzah’s arrest ultimately means that the colonial-era Sedition Act is more powerful than a lawmaker’s privileges under the Federal Constitution.

“Nurul Izzah’s arrest has shown Malaysians the extent of the diabolical nature of the Sedition Act,” Bersih 2.0 said.

“Malaysians must say it loud and clear: this archaic law, a relic of our colonial times, must go,” it added.

The group also pointed out that if Nurul Izzah had spoken out of order in the Dewan Rakyat, the Speaker could have censured her or alternatively, the lawmaker could have been referred to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee.

It said Nurul Izzah’s arrest and subsequent detention were also unnecessary as the PKR politician is a well-known and committed lawmaker who would not likely be a flight risk.

“Yet, the police chose to arrest her before taking her statement over her speech, as revealed by her lawyer R. Sivarasa in a statement today.

“It was obvious that the authorities were bent on depriving Nurul Izzah’s liberty for one night by shutting her in a police lockup,” Bersih 2.0 said.

Nurul Izzah was detained yesterday after going voluntarily to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters to record her statement on two separate probes — one on her involvement in the #KitaLawan rally two weeks ago and one on her parliamentary speech for her father, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

She was released this afternoon after spending the night in the Jinjang police lock-up.

In the speech that Nurul Izzah read out to Parliament last week, Anwar had reportedly criticised his five-year imprisonment for sodomy and claimed that those in the judiciary had sold their souls to the devil.

Nurul Izzah’s arrest has made global headlines including in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and the New York Times.