The Federal Court ruling today that the Sedition Act 1948 is valid under the Federal Constitution is "worrying", said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Lim said although there had been promises of abolishing the Sedition Act by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the court ruling has now fortified it and brought the country back to square one.

"We are no more moving forward, especially with laws that can sentence you up to 20 years for challenging parliamentary democracy.

"The court ruling on the Sedition Act has reaffirmed this," Lim said, at a press conference after attending the signing ceremony of the German Dual Vocational Training Programme between Penang Skills Development Centre (PDSC) and Penang industries.

Lim was referring to the ruling made today by Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria, who said "the intention of the framers of the constitution is to ensure the existing (pre-Merdeka) law is valid and continues to be valid and enforceable."

Disappointed at ruling

Ariffin led a five-member bench that included the top three in the judiciary, including Court of Appeal President Md Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Federal Court judges Abdull Hamid Embong and Suriyadi Halim Omar.

Lim said the DAP was disappointed at the ruling, and condemned Najib's 1Malaysia slogan as being meaningless.

Following the ruling, Arifin ordered that the sedition case against Universiti Malaysia law lecturer, Associate Professor Azmi Sharom ( photo ) to be remitted to the Sessions Court.

Lim added Prime Minister Najib Razak is no longer a reformist, and his plan to reform the country is a sham.

"His true colours are really showing," said the DAP secretary-general.

Instead of promoting unity, Najib has shown himself as supporting racists, Lim declared, referring to the PM's backing for the red shirt rally on Malaysia Day last month.

"He says he wants to fight corruption and yet did not attend an International conference in Kuala Lumpur," Lim added.

He was referring to the recent International Conference Against Corruption where Najib ( photo ) was allegedly advised not to attend as massive criticisms were made against his alleged mishandling of 1MDB and the controversial RM2.6 billion donation made to his private accounts.

Meanwhile, Lim urged Najib not to further delay initiating legal action against The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which reported that RM2.6 billion was deposited in his private bank accounts before the 2013 national polls.

Najib has insisted the money was not used for personal gain and is considering legal action against the WSJ. The US based financial paper has said it is standing by its report.

"Sue in the United States and not in Malaysia," Lim said, referring to Najib's sending a legal notice to former MCA president Ling Liong Sik.

Najib has demanded an apology from Ling who had called for the PM's ouster over the alleged financial scandals.

"When is Najib going to sue former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has been asking him to resign? Ling was only repeating Mahathir's words," Lim added.

Mahathir, who once strongly backed Najib as PM, has emerged as one of his fiercest critics, saying he was not fit to be prime minister.