Najib Razak today said the amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 will be tabled at the coming Dewan Rakyat session.

The prime minister also wanted the police and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to strictly enforce the law after the amendments had been approved.

"We want the police to investigate thoroughly, we want MCMC to also do the necessary investigation so that we give a clear signal that no one should fear or be afraid if the person does not violate the law in the country.

"Don't be provocateurs of religion and race. This is clear, there is no more warning after this. We want to ensure everybody, race and religion has respect for one another," he said in his winding-up speech at the 2014 Umno general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre today.

In his presidential policy speech on Thursday, Najib announced the decision to maintain the Sedition Act and to improve it by including two special provisions to preserve the sanctity of Islam and all other religions and to prosecute those who called for the separation of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.

Najib explained that he had chosen the Umno assembly to make the announcement on the retention of the act based on his feeling of responsibility to all the party members.

"If the Umno voice wants the Sedition Act to be retained, then I choose to accept the aspiration of all the Umno members. Furthermore, when I discussed with the deputy president, Umno leaders, everyone said that was the best stand," he said.

Najib added that the decision did not mean that the government was not being fair to the other communities and stressed that the act would protect all the people regardless of race and religion.

"However, I cannot direct the attorney-general because in the Constitution, the attorney-general has absolute power, so I asked the firmness of the Attorney-General to carry out prosecution," Najib said.

The proposal to abolish the Sedition Act 1948 was presented for the first time in July 2012, and would be replaced with a new act to be known as the National Harmony Act.

Protection for all

Meanwhile, Najib said in a news conference that retaining the Sedition Act 1948 was for the safety of all Malaysians and not just the Malays and bumiputera.

"This is about protection for all. We do not want any religious and ethnic conflicts to occur in the country. We will do our utmost best to prevent this from happening," he said.

He said actions belittling the privileges of the Malays, rulers and Islam as well as the non-Malays, could create racial tension in the county.

"We must prevent this from happening because it does not benefit anyone and the act also protects the rights of non-Malays and non-Muslims," said Najib.

The prime minister said the decision to retain the act was not backward as a measure to uphold democracy had been done previously through the abolishment of various acts including the Internal Security Act (ISA) on Sept 11, 2011.

- Bernama