Malaysia's Sedition Act - A Repressive Law

Someone has been threatening Sarawak Headhunter through the Comments section of this blog with arrest for sedition, presumably under the Malaysian Sedition Act and even under the ISA ("Internal Security Act"), both repressive laws normally resorted to by a government which has lost its legitimate right to govern.

This is not medicine which Sarawak Headhunter can be forced to swallow.

Sarawak Headhunter is as stubborn as RPK and will not bow to such threats. There is a limit to which human rights may be violated and we must never allow any government to ride rough-shod over its people under the guise of implementing such repressive laws.

It is the people who decide what their government is, not the government that decides what to do to the people. Governments cannot play God with their people. If they think that by doing so they can subdue the truth, they are sadly mistaken.

Any government which ignores this deserves to be overthrown and will be overthrown, preferably at the ballot.

The following is an extract from the Human Rights Watch website under the topic "Repressive Laws" (of Malaysia):

"The Sedition Act

The Sedition Act, originally enacted by British colonial authorities, limits free expression by broadly criminalizing any speech that is judged to have a "seditious tendency," including speech which tends to "bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against" the government, promote "feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races," or question constitutional preferences in business, education, and government employment opportunities given to Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. The speaker's intent and the statements' veracity are irrelevant. A violation of the act is punishable by up to three years in prison, a 5,000 ringgit fine (about U.S. $1,315), or both. The act's vague language invites selective application against political opponents for any kind of criticism. Indeed, it was used in January 2000, shortly after the national elections, against opposition figures who criticized the government. Such expression is a basic right guaranteed by internationally recognized human rights standards. In addition, although numerous police reports alleging acts of sedition were filed against ruling party officials and allies during the same period, only opposition figures were arrested. Human Rights Watch calls on the Malaysian government to ensure that the law is not used for politically motivated proceedings against activists, attorneys, journalists, and opposition leaders. Those who peacefully express critical views should not be subject to arrest."

Sarawak Headhunter cannot put it quite as well as the master himself:

It is clear that the Sedition Act can solve all our problems. The Sedition Act, properly and seriously implemented, would result in the entire world sharing just one religion. There would not be so many religions, which, today, are the source of most of the world’s problems.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There is an old law which many Malaysians do not realise still exists in this country. This law is called the Sedition Act. How old is this law, you may ask. Trust me, it is very, very old.

The Sedition Act was already around 3,000 or 3,500 years ago during the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs. At that time a man called Musa -- namesake of Musa Hitam, Musa Aman and Musa Hassan; who are all the exact opposite of the Musa of old Egypt -- received a message from God. And the message is that the Pharaoh is not God, as he believed he was, and Musa was to go tell him so.

Of course Musa was scared because he was aware of the Sedition Act and anyone who disputes that the Ruler of Egypt is God will be dealt with severely. So Musa asked God for permission to bring his brother along since his brother had the gift of the gab and was able to ‘spin’ just like the Bloggers of modern days. Knowing that a lot of spinning would be required to counter Pharaoh’s claim of divinity, God agreed and Musa and his brother then went and confronted the Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh asked Musa what are the credentials to become God. Musa then replied that God gives life and God takes life. The Pharaoh then sentenced Musa to death thereby ‘taking his life’. The Pharaoh then commuted the death sentence thereby ‘giving back’ Musa his life.

“So I have just taken life and given life,” argued the Pharaoh. “That means I am God.”

See the rest at Malaysia-Today.