MP SPEAKS This morning, Universiti Malaya law professor Azmi Sharom became the new victim of the sedition dragnet when he was charged with sedition over his remarks on the Perak constitutional crisis.

 

It is clear that now that the government has become so intolerant that the dragnet has included academicians.

 

Malaysians who were already shocked with the slew of sedition charges against opposition lawmakers and angry with the unnecessary, highhanded police arrest of 156 PPS members on Aug 31, are now asking what has happened to this country and where the country is heading to?

 

Has the 1987 Ops Lalang-like crackdown started with sedition being used as a new weapon against the Opposition and dissidents?

 

Why has the prime minister totally abandoned his pledge to make Malaysia the best democracy in the world?

 

Is Malaysia going to face another political dark age worse than the period under the premiership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad?

 

The prime minister must not remain silent or do nothing.

 

I must remind the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that he must take full responsibility and blame for the continued use and abuse of the draconian Act.

 

It is unfair and unacceptable for the government to push the blame on the attorney-general, just like how Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently did when he defended the Home Ministry from allegations of "selective prosecution" by saying that the prosecution process lies solely with the Attorney-General's Chambers.

 

It was in 2012 that the prime minister had promised to repeal the 1948 Sedition Act and the attorney-general’s actions must reflect the government’s policies.

 

The government reiterated recently its pledge to replace the Sedition Act with a National Harmony Act, which is being drafted.

The absence of new laws should not be an excuse for the continued use and abuse of the Sedition Act.

 

Najib must show his sincerity for and commitment to his 2012 pledge by immediately repealing the archaic Act.

 

All sedition charges should also be withdrawn.

TERESA KOK is DAP’s MP for Seputeh.

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