The Bar Council's National Young Lawyers Committee (NYLC) will be launching a year-long campaign calling for the abolition of the Sedition Act 1948.

"After one year, we are going to come back strong. We are going to show the government that we have the numbers to back us up – we have a substantial number of persons who support our campaign," NYLC chief Syahredzan Johan ( left ) told Malaysiakini .

Syahredzan said apart from the abolition of the Sedition Act, the campaign also aims to create awareness of the Act and build a "critical mass" of persons who support its repeal.

The campaign follows a spate of charges and investigations under the Sedition Act over the past month, of which four opposition politicians and law lecturer Azmi Sharom have been hauled to court.

To achieve its goals, Syahredzan said, a working committee of about 50 members would draft a list of "frequently asked questions" on the Act and engage with the public online, such as through the Twitter hashtag #mansuhaktahasutan (abolish Sedition Act).

In addition, he said the committee will be engaging with people in the rural areas as well, by working with existing NGOs and political parties to leverage on their communication channels with the public.

"It is one thing doing it in the Klang Valley or doing it online and all that, but the reach is limited. We really need to go to the grassroots; we really need to go outside of the urban centres to make a difference.

"Otherwise, we are going to be something that is like many other civil society campaigns. We would be seen as middle class, elitist, or something that doesn’t really concern the mass populace out there.

"That is why we want to move away from that. We want to show the people why the Sedition Act should concern everyone, not just people living Kuala Lumpur and in urban centres of Malaysia," he added.

Along the way, the group will also be collecting signatures from those who are against the Sedition Act.

Syahredzan said the NYLC will also be approaching BN for help and he believes that some BN component parties may be willing to join the effort.

He said this is because some groups, such as the Youth wings of MCA and Gerakan, have spoken out against the Sedition Act.

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