KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — Malaysians should reject all political parties that seek to abolish the Sedition Act as its repeal would threaten national security, Perkasa said today.

Its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said the Sedition Act must be preserved at all costs, although many has alleged it was used by the government as a political tool.

“It may appear that my way of thinking is orthodox, but the Act has its way of ensuring the harmony in the country, especially in this new age where people are vocalising their criticisms way too freely.

“If the Sedition Act is not in place, these behaviours would come and bite the country back, thus tarnishing Malaysia’s image. It may even trigger internal fights.

“It is good to have some sort of guideline to keep everyone in check,” he told a press conference at Perkasa’s office here today.

Ibrahim was alluding to the promises made by Pakatan Harapan (PH) in its manifesto for the 14th general election, which include the abolition of the Sedition Act 1948, Prevention of Crime Act 1959, Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and National Security Council Act 2016.

He stressed that the Sedition Act is paramount to national unity, thus the idea to abolish it must be rejected by the public.

“Regardless, national security to me is of the utmost importance. If we are not careful we could end up like other countries — I don’t want to name names as to not offend people — which are in shambles due to bombings and war,” he said.

Ibrahim said although he was detained twice under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), he would personally bring back the Act if he had the authority to do so.

He said he was the only one who objected to the abolishment of the Act when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak proposed it in the Parliament in 2011, which proved that he believed in the effectiveness of the Act.

“I don’t understand why people who have never been implicated by ISA make so much noise about it.

“Sure, ISA may need some reviewing and improvement but if the Act was still in place today, people would not dare to act or say as they wish, like what is happening before our eyes,” he said.

In 1987, Ibrahim was detained for 58 days under Ops Lalang after a protest in Kg Baru, when he was part of Umno Youth.

Two years later, he was again detained for 60 days following a student demonstration.