Gerakan today defended its vote in Parliament to strengthen the Sedition Act 1948, insisting that the move would be welcomed by all quarters.

 

Simpang Renggam MP Liang Teck Meng, one of two Gerakan representatives who voted in favour of the Sedition bill, said when the rakyat realises the "goodwill" of the amendments, they will even turn against DAP which opposed the change.

 

"If BN can deliver the goodwill of the amendments clearly to the people and also people understand the rationale of it, they (DAP) can be unseated in the next general election," he said in a statement today.

 

He said among the DAP MPs at risk of losing their seats are Sarikei's Wong Ling Biu (505-vote majority), Sandakan's Wong Tien Fatt (1,088), Raub's Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz (2,814), and Sibu's Oscar Ling Chai Yew (2,841).

 

Liang was responding to DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua who called on voters to punish the 108 MPs who supported the strengthening of the Sedition Act after Malaysiakini published their names yesterday.

Pua had said that if voters were to make their protest heard against MPs who voted for the bill, 23 BN representatives who won their seats with less than 2,000-vote majority will be at risk of being ousted.

 

They include Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong who wrested the Teluk Intan seat from DAP with a 238-vote majority in a by-election last year; Mah also voted for the sedition amendment.

 

Gerakan’s proposal taken up

 

Boasting of Gerakan's performance, Liang said the government had taken up the party's proposals for "progressive change" and "greater respect for right to free speech" in the updated Sedition Act.

 

"For instance, there were amendments to Section 3 that no longer criminalises criticism against the government and the administration of justice, while persistent effort also saw the removal of non-bailable clause. 

 

"This is an improvement to the Act; why we should lose out and see it in bad faith?” asked Liang.

 

He went on to question Pua's logic, insisting that the amended Sedition Act was not against the rakyat's interest.

 

"In contrast, the government is actually giving greater freedom and protection to the people through recent legislative efforts.

 

"Gerakan reckons the potential threat of creating religious tension in the social media and concurs that certain control and monitoring should be introduced to keep it in check," he said.

Mandatory jail sentence

 

While the amended Sedition Act decriminalises criticising the government and judiciary, it also introduces sedition on grounds of religion and expanded the definition of sedition.

 

The updated law also abolished fines in favour of mandatory jail term of up to 20 years, compared to three years in the previous version.

 

The colonial era law, which has been used in a recent crackdown against opposition politicians and activists ( above ), was also expanded to include censorship of electronic content.

 

It provides for punishment even to those who are indirectly responsible for seditious content.

 

The Sedition (Amendments) Bill 2015 went to the second reading stage in Dewan Rakyat with a vote of 108 in favour to 79 against, and was passed after 14 hours of debate in the wee hours of April 10.