The Malaysian Bar's walk against the government's use of Sedition Act on Oct 16 is gathering more steam with the participation of the Universiti Malaya Law Society.

The event, called the 'Walk For Peace and Freedom against the Sedition Act', is to raise awareness on the significance of freedom of speech and expression as a basic human right.

UM Law Society, which stayed out of a protest in support of its associate law professor Azmi Sharom on Sept 2 on grounds it wanted to be impartial, has decided to join the bandwagon this coming Thursday.

Society president Chai Duwei said in a statement today the recent sedition charge faced by Azmi suggests academic freedom is under undue suppression, particularly at the level of tertiary education.  

“We are shocked, disheartened and disappointed that the government, instead of engaging in a debate or dialogue worthy of our aspirations to advance the nation, has chosen to stifle an academician who was rightfully expressing a remark within his field of expertise,” he said.

“We regard the charge against Azmi under the Sedition Act as a gross violation of the freedom of speech and expression in disregard of the sacred notion of academic freedom, and an attempt to intimidate and instil fear in the society at large to muzzle dissent.”

Such repression, Chai said, severely undermines any effort to elevate UM and other local universities into world class institutions.

He said only with academic freedom can local universities truly be places of higher learning and excellence, where an exchange of vibrant ideas and opinions is possible.

“The Blue Ribbon Campaign, as an exercise of freedom of expression in itself, is launched as a demonstration of our commitment to uphold the freedom of speech and expression, as well as the sacred principle of academic freedom,” Chai said.

'Repeal Sedition Act'

The society believes that both the walk and the campaign, in which the student participants are asked to wear blue ribbons, will raise awareness on the significance of freedom of speech and expression as a basic human right.

“It is our hope that this walk will also serve as a platform for all members of the legal fraternity, students, as well as academicians from across Malaysia to come together for a common cause,” he said.

The society will continue to stand in solidarity with Azmi ( left ), who has relentlessly fulfilled his role as a scholar and educator, and it called for all charges against him to be dropped.

“We call upon the prime minister to implement his plan to repeal the Sedition Act 1948 and to commit that no law of such substance, whether in name or kind, be introduced to replace it,” Chai added.

The Bar Council announced that it is organising the protest walk on Oct 16 , after the Malaysian Bar in an extraordinary general meeting approved the walk, in which lawyers will march from Padang Merbok to the Parliament.

Lawyers have been at the forefront in protests since then Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan organised the 'Walk for Justice' in Putrajaya in 2007 to demand a royal commission of inquiry to address the slide in the standard of the judiciary.

They again marched in 2011, when the Peaceful Assembly Act was tabled in Parliament, making street protest rallies a crime.