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Detention without trial to make a comeback?

YOURSAY ‘Sedition Act will be bolstered with ISA-style detention without trial.’

 

Perkasa wants detention without trial, whipping

David Dass: It is sad. It is sad and wrong that extremist voices like Isma and Perkasa see themselves as victors in the Sedition Act debate.

 

Why was the commitment given by the PM to repeal the Sedition Act in the first place? Why was there a groundswell of opposition to the Sedition Act?

 

We are a relatively young country. We have made considerable progress in the 57 years of our independence. There are many who feel that we might have made greater progress if some things had been done differently.

 

We have inherited democratic institutions from the British and these have been good for us. But many of these institutions sit uneasily in the country. Government leaders do not like to be challenged and questioned about policies and actions.

 

That is natural, even in mature democracies. But their democratic traditions are strong. These were built over years. There was much resistance by feudal kings and overlords. Much blood was spilt. We all know of the Magna Carta .

 

We are a democracy. We have a parliament. And we have a independent judiciary. We actually have a mechanism for dealing with disputes. We should all try to keep our nation peaceful and beautiful.

 

We should all try and see the good in each other, to see the contribution of all to the making of this country, to accept the fact that we are a diverse nation and that diversity is an asset.

 

The Chinese community should not be constantly pilloried for being hard working and enterprising. We should work with them and learn from them. And we should stop this nonsense of trying to rank one another by who came first into the country.

 

When most are into the third and fourth generation, it makes no sense to flog that issue. We are all Malaysians. And we have a written constitution that sets out our rights and duties. Let us work together to make this country better for all.

 

There are two fundamental issues involved here. The first is freedom of speech. If the Sedition Act is broad and sweeping in its terms it will severely curb freedom of speech. Anyone who dissents will run the risk of breaching the law.

 

Rulers have constitutional and legal duties and discretions. The law allows challenge on the exercise of these duties. Such challenges should not be seditious. Rulers can commit crimes. And can therefore be the subject of prosecution through the Special court. This is not sedition.

 

Freedom of religion is a fundamental right. There can be no interference with how people of any religion practice their faith. When there is interference, there will be reaction. That reaction cannot be sedition.

 

There are also areas of interaction that can result in tension. The conversion cases for instance and the use of the Alkitab and the reference to 'Allah' by Christians. Discussion of these issues cannot be sedition.

 

Article 153 provides special rights for Malays who were citizens of Malaya at the time Independence and their descendants. It was extended to cover the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak.

 

The special rights contemplated by the Article are quite specific. Non-Malays are entitled to question benefits that exceed the benefits contemplated by Article 153. That is not sedition.

 

There could be other instances. Another area of concern is selective prosecution. We have seen Isma, Perkasa and Ridhuan Tee Abdullah make the most outrageous statements. And they are not prosecuted. That is wrong.

 

The tone and tenor of the speeches made by some Umno delegates at the party general assembly is disturbing. They play to the gallery. They are militant in style, encouraging or contemplating confrontation with Malaysians who are not Malays and Muslims.

 

This is wrong. We are peaceful people. Few contemplate any kind of violent confrontation.

 

Pemerhati: It is rather strange that Umno’s two well-known sub-contractors (Perkasa and Isma) are thanking their main contractor for doing what the main contractor, Umno, asked them to do.

 

Oh, I forgot it is their usual ‘sandiwara’ to mislead the public into believing that they act independently and are not the mouthpieces of PM Najib Razak and Umno.

 

Anonymous #57883242: We have been spiraling south in the last three decades. Najib will now hasten that process.

 

Pakatan-Ku: Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman's head needs a thorough check in the hospital. It is the abuse and misuse of Sedition Act that causes the tension.

 

How could a professor of law giving his academic opinion be considered seditious while a mad dog screaming for the burning of the Bible is not. 

 

Anonymous_3e86: How could continuing with the Sedition Act "calm tensions" when presently it is not used against people like Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali.

 

The Sedition Act is presently being abused by the authorities to stifle criticisms against BN. The Act is only good if it is used fairly, like any other law.

 

It is the Umno extremists who are spewing hatred and racist comments, instigating the non-Malays to respond to them.

 

MsiaBaru: Shouldn't Ibrahim Ali and Isma be the first to be charged under Sedition Act, get whipped as he suggested?

 

Not Convinced: It looks like the government has realised it had made a gross error in repealing the Internal Securty Act (ISA) which allowed detention without trial.

 

So what to do? The answer - bolster the Sedition Act with ISA-style detention without trial. Believe me, we have yet to see the end of detention without trial for political dissidents in this country.

 

Vgeorgemy: In Malaysia, extremist racist organisations have no issue in accepting white man's oppressive laws to protect their selfish interest.


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