Despite the authorities launching a sedition crackdown which saw 20 people charged or investigated since last month, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Paul Low maintained that the independence of the attorney-general and judiciary had not been compromised.

 

Low, speaking at the International Law Conference today, said the government did not put pressure on the judiciary or the AG to act in certain circumstances, and he denied there was selective prosecution.

 

"There should be certain boundaries to what can be said otherwise there will be chaos," he said in defending the use of the Sedition Act.

 

"The Act is there to ensure the peace and security of the country. We all know the nature and fabric of society where some groups may feel more insecure than others. Ordinary people fear chaos.

“The AG and the judiciary are absolutely independent. I won't want to see any interference in the office of the AG,” he said.

Last month sedition dragnet saw politicians, academicians, students and Facebook users being charged. This led it to being compared to Ops Lalang.

However, the minister had difficulty in answering when asked why something said months or years ago and had not resulted in riots, is now considered seditious and the speaker charged or investigated.

This was a reference to Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim being now probed on remarks uttered three years ago.

Meanwhile participant and lawyer Alex De Silva said he noticed the minister seemed to be side-stepping some of the issues raised.

He asked if Low thought that being outside Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's ( left ) cabinet was better than being inside.

 

This led to Low defending his presence in the cabinet. He said came from a civil society group - Transparency International Malaysia. While he could yell and shout from the outside, being inside, he could help formulate policies.

 

“For example, I can change the composition of the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC) and prepare a policy for the government to deal with human trafficking. There are other areas also where I can effect change,” he said.

 

No answer

 

Lawyer R Sivarasa then questioned Low on his claim that the judiciary was independent.

He asked why Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy case which was at the Court of Appeal and originally scheduled in April, was brought forward to March, where his acquittal was overturned.

Low said he could not answer that as he was not a judge.

The conviction had affected Anwar's ( right ) attempt to win the Kajang state seat in the so-called 'Kajang move' as it resulted in his disqualification.

Meanwhile Low added the decision by the Court of Appeal in the Teoh Beng Hock case showed that the judiciary was independent.

The court had overturned the open verdict, to indicate that foul play was involved.

He vouched as the minister in charge of transparency and integrity and overseeing the EAIC, he will ensure there will be action taken following the appellate court’s decision. However he did not say what were the steps he had in mind.

Non-committal answer

To a question by young lawyer Syahredzan Johan on the government's commitment to abolish the Sedition Act 1948, Low merely reiterated the government's non-committal reply, despite the lawyer asking for a simple “yes” or “no” answer.

Besides Low, the other members in the five-member panel were lawyer Tommy Thomas, former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Gan Ping Sieu who is also a lawyer, social activist Marina Mahathir and The Malaysian Insider chief executive officer Jahabar Sadiq.

The minister was also asked to comment on the Human Rights Watch report today, which found that transgenders were treated improperly by the authorities.

Low agreed that this group had to be treated with dignity despite being different.

“I will look at the report and its recommendations,” he added.

Constitutional expert Thomas was then asked by former bar council S Ambiga on defamation suits filed by Najib against Malaysiakini and former Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's suit against The Malaysian Insider .

Thomas expressed surprise at the action taken by the premier

“If I am not mistaken this is the first defamation suit taken by a sitting PM. There have not been any defamation suits filed by the previous five PMs,” he said.

Thomas also said that the use of Sedition Act against Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer was inappropriate as the Act did not stipulate that political parties should be immune from criticism.

“No political parties are protected under the Sedition Act. Hence, Umno can criticise PAS, and other parties can be criticised,” he said.

Marina also wondered why no action was taken against Perkasa in the recent sedition blitz.

The social activist also criticised Utusan Malaysia saying the Umno owned paper enjoyed absolute freedom when it should not have such a privilege. “Utusan has the freedom to stir up things,” she remarked.

The law conference continues tomorrow .

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