KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — The amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 will lead to a “false” sense of unity and harmony that is actually created by fear and intimidation, the three Bars of Malaysia said today.
The Malaysian Bar representing lawyers in peninsula Malaysia, the Advocates’ Association of Sarawak and the Sabah Law Association also pointed out that criticisms against the government should never have been criminalised in the first place, when commenting on the revisions to the colonial-era law that decriminalise censure of the government.
“The amendments passed by the Dewan Rakyat will result in a false sense of unity and harmony that is actually created by intimidation and a climate of fear,” the three professional legal bodies said in a joint statement.
“This perpetuates insecurity and suspicion amongst our citizenry, and does not augur well for the growth and maturity of our nation,” Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru, Advocates’ Association of Sarawak president Leonard Shim and Sabah Law Association president Datuk GBB Nandy added.
The three legal associations further noted that Putrajaya should decriminalise criticisms of the judiciary in other legislation after such speech was permitted in the amendments to the British colonial-era law.
They also said mandatory imprisonment for sedition is “harsh and disproportionate”, in response to the revised punishment for the offence of sedition to imprisonment of between three and seven years, with the previous sanction of a fine in lieu of jail removed.
“In the case of a Member of Parliament, it will result in automatic disqualification. Moreover, by prescribing a minimum term of imprisonment, the government curtails the discretion of the judiciary in sentencing matters,” said the three legal bodies.
Critics have accused the government of using the Sedition Act to quell dissent, as the sedition dragnet has seen opposition lawmakers, lawyers, activists, and even journalists being investigated, charged or convicted under the law since last year.
The three legal associations stressed today that judicial discretion in sentencing is a critical aspect of judicial power so as to ensure justice is done in each case, based on the particular facts of the case.
“The deprivation of such judicial discretion may be construed to mean that the government does not trust, or has lost faith in, the ability of the judiciary to discharge its constitutional role and function, and would be seen as an interference with the independence of the judiciary,” they said.
“A further intrusion into judicial discretion is seen in the new Section 6A, which prohibits a judge from discharging a person convicted of aggravated sedition either conditionally or unconditionally, or granting a binding over order or taking into account the fact that the person is a youthful offender or a first-time offender,” the associations added.
Under the revised Sedition Act, a person accused of committing sedition that causes “bodily harm or damage to property”, described as “aggravated sedition”, will be liable to imprisonment of between three and 20 years.
The three legal bodies also slammed the amendment that prohibits those who publish allegedly seditious comments online from accessing “any electronic device”, saying it will threaten freedom of speech and expression on the Internet.
“The Sedition Act 1948 is an archaic, obsolete and regressive law that must be abolished. It severely restricts, or even extinguishes, the freedom of speech and expression, and hence tramples on the constitutional rights of Malaysians. It is the antithesis of democracy, justice and human rights,” they said.
The US Department of State, the European Union and US ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Y Yun have criticised the amendments to the Sedition Act, an archaic law that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak once said would be repealed.
