Why has the government not abolished the Sedition Act?

A common grouse against the Madani reformist Government of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is its failure to-date to fulfil many campaign promises, amongst of which the most notable being its pledge to repeal the Sedition Act 1948. This Act was originally enacted by the colonial authorities of British Malaya in 1948 to contain the local communist insurgence. Now that the communists are no longer a threat (real or imagined), what use then is the Sedition Act in today's context? Well, basically anyone who plots to overthrow the government can be charged under the Act and, if found guilty, can be imprisoned for up to 3 years or fined RM5,000, or both. Let's examine the Act.

Under Section 3(1), those acts defined as having a "seditious tendency" are acts with a tendency:

(a) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any Ruler or against any Government;

(b) to excite the subjects of the Ruler or the inhabitants of any territory governed by any government to attempt to procure in the territory of the Ruler or governed by the Government, the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any matter as by law established;

(c) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Malaysia or in any State;

(d) to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the subjects of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or of the Ruler of any State or amongst the inhabitants of Malaysia or of any State;

(e) to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Malaysia; or

(f) to question any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of part III of the Federal constitution or Article 152, 153 or 181 of the Federal Constitution.

For an Act that has been challenged as being unconstitutional, these are very wide sweeping powers indeed to fortify the almost unassailable position of the incumbent powers-that-be and silence dissent. 

However, Section 3(2) provides certain exceptions, providing examples of speech which cannot be deemed seditious. It is not seditious to "show that any Ruler has been misled or mistaken in any of his measures", nor is it seditious "to point out errors or defects in the Government or Constitution as by law established". It is also not seditious "to attempt to procure by lawful means the alteration of any matter in the territory of such Government as by law established" or "to point out, with a view to their removal, any matters producing or having a tendency to produce feelings of ill-will and enmity between different races or classes of the population of the Federation". However, the act explicitly states that any matter covered by subsection (1)(f), namely those matters pertaining to the Malaysian social contract, cannot have these exceptions applied to it.

 It is small wonder that the government of the day is slow to repeal an Act which obviously protects incumbency. It is to be seen whether this dragging of feet on reforms will adversely affect the Madani Government come the 12 Aug 2023 state elections which will be held in 6 peninsular states, namely Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor. It will not affect hardcore supporters of the Madani Government, but the fence-sitters who are being hotly-courted by both sides of the political divide may be swayed or they may spoil their votes in protest. We shall see.  

 

The Failure of Modern Malay Secular Politicians in Malaysia

The last Malaysian general elections held in 19 November 2022 was a watershed moment for local Malay politicians. Amidst the "Green Wave" from newly-registered Undi-18 voters, the old Malay political establishment came crumbling down and were largely washed aside. UMNO which thought itself a clear winner ended up as the biggest loser in GE 15 with PAS emerging as the dominant Malay party in Parliament.

Old fogeys like Tun Dr Mahathir, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and the elite secular Malay politicians fell like dominoes. 

There is a very clear message being sent by young Malay voters. The Malay elite political establishment has failed them and they want an alternative representation. The old order is seen as corrupt, crony-benefitting and self-serving compared with the likes of PAS, inflammatory incendiary and all-provoking as they may seem to us non-Malays. But the fact remains that PAS is perceived as cleaner and mostly untouched by the horrid corruption and other scandals befalling the Malay elites. It is closer to the roots of the Malay psyche, the kampung pondok agama, and the common Malay peasant. It is remarkable how from being a marginalised, fringe looney religio-party that PAS has emerged as the main voice of the discontented and restless segment of the Malay voters.

In less than 30 years, PAS has grown from strength to strength, benefitting always from the many follies and scandals befalling its arch-rival UMNO. The final straw that literally broke the UMNO camel's back was 1MDB involving disgraced former UMNO President and ex-PM Najib Tun Abdul Razak. In their final hours of desperation, najib and his deputy zahid both sought the support of PAS to stave off their court cases and when that and the Perikatan Nasional tie-ups didn't work, they sought an alternate refuge: Pakatan Harapan.

Who can save the so-called secular modern Malay politican, if such a man/woman truly exists? If najib tun abdul razak personifies the modern moderate secular malay polituician, then the future looks bleak indeed. Can there be a clean, honest and competent Malay politician free from political Islam and yet far-seeing enough to guide KD Malaysia to safe harbour away from the storms of racial and religious extremism and gutter poltics? Perhaps a taste of Hadi Awang as Prime Minister for one term is all the anbtidote that is really needed to stir the slumbering hordes out of its morbid fantasies.