The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has reminded Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of his pre-election pledge to repeal the Sedition Act 1948 and urged that he follow through with the promise.

"The Commission recalls the announcement of the prime minister made in 2012 that the Sedition Act would be repealed and replaced with a 'National Harmony Act' that is aimed at providing a balance between guaranteeing freedom of speech and the need to handle the complexity of plurality in Malaysian society.

"The Commission calls upon the government to fulfil this commitment and urgently enact this law in upholding and safeguarding the citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of speech...," Suhakam chairperson Hasmy Agam said in a statement yesterday.

Hasmy also expressed concern with the repeated use of the Sedition Act against individuals deemed to have made "seditious" remarks despite the PM's pledge to do away with the colonial era law.

"Suhakam opines that the invocation of the Sedition Act in such cases is unjustified as other legal remedies or laws could have been used by the authorities in handling such matters...," he said.

Hasmy pointed out the Sedition Act allowed for the criminalisation of speech deemed to have "seditious tendency" without having to prove the intention of the accused.

'Law must be applied equally'

Furthermore, he said if authorities intend to act against individuals who have gone beyond the limits of free speech, it should be done without discrimination.

"Suhakam deems it important for the authorities to uphold the principle of equality as enshrined under Article 8 of the federal constitution and to ensure that legal action is taken and applied equally and unequivocally against all parties concerned," he said.

DAP's Seputeh MP Teresa Kok was on May 6 charged under the Sedition Act at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for a satire video poking fun at the government's handling of critical issues such as the Lahad Datu intrusion.

Two months before that, then DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh was found guilty for sedition by the Kuala Lumpur High Court for saying the Perak Sultan was liable to be sued for the latter's decision in the Perak crisis, and was slapped with a RM4,000 fine.

Not content with the guilty vedict, the government has even sought a heavier sentence including jail term for the wheelchair-bound politician but he died in a car accident before the appeal was heard.

Meanwhile many critics have slammed the government for not applying the same iron hand against numerous allegedly seditious statements from pro-government Malay rights groups such as Isma and Perkasa.

Isma, for example, has among others labelled the Chinese as intruders , while Perkasa has once called on Malay Bibles containing the word 'Allah' to be burned.

In both cases the government has not issued any official reprimand.