Query on abolition of Sedition Act rejected
PARLIAMENT A question by DAP's Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching on the abolition of the Sedition Act was rejected by Parliament today because the question made "ill assumptions".
PARLIAMENT A question by DAP's Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching on the abolition of the Sedition Act was rejected by Parliament today because the question made "ill assumptions".
Teo submitted a question asking if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had forgotten his pledge to abolish the Sedition Act, a promise he made almost two years ago.
But Dewan Rakyat secretary Roosme Hamzah ( right ) rejected the question, saying that it had ill assumptions.
"The PM should not run away from this question," Teo told a press conference at the Parliament lobby later today.
Teo said that if the prime minister has the political will to abolish the act, which dates back to the year 1948, the attorney-general must first refrain from using the act against individuals.
DAP’s Seputeh MP Teresa Kok is the latest in a long line of opposition leaders and activists who have been charged with sedition, most after the general elections last May.
“We see no signs that the government intends to abolish the act,” Teo said.
Meanwhile, Kok said that she would apply for have her sedition charge be heard in the High Court, and not the Sessions Court.
The application will be heard by the Sessions Court on Sept 2, she said.
She is being charged with sedition over her Chinese New Year parody video, in which she allegedly insulted some national leaders.
Related stories
New bills moot jail time for bigotry
Query on abolition of Sedition Act rejected
