Media
statement by Member of Parliament for Batu Kawan and Publicity
Secretary for DAP Wanita Kasthuri Patto on Friday 12 August 2016 in
Batu Kawan, Penang.
In
the spirit of Merdeka celebrations, Najib Razak should prove that the
Barisan Nasional administration is not autocratic and authoritarian
by doing away with the Sedition Act 1948.
This
week saw the Prime Minister address young Malaysian of the youth
parliament in the Dewan Rakyat. He smugly dismissed allegations that
the government is autocratic, saying that it is open to criticism,
mentioned that those who wanted to give their feedback or criticism
should do it in a proper manner-that street rallies and 'referendum
rakyat' isn’t our cup of tea.
In
fact, in a paradoxical twist, that it is actually his BN
administration and he who have violated the spirit of the Federal
Constitution that upholds fundamental liberties and freedom of speech
by using brute force in the form of laws to curtail freedom of speech
and abuse human rights.
Najib
announced to the world, in 2011 that the archaic, Sedition Act will
be repealed. Malaysians across the board applauded the move saying it
was finally a resolute step in the right direction after being under
an iron fisted rule for 22 years by former Prime Minister Dr
Mahathir. Najib said the decision to replace the Sedition Act with
the National Harmony Act was made to find a mechanism to determine
the best balance between ensuring every citizen's freedom of
expression, and the need to handle the complex nature of the
country's multi-racial and multi-religious society.
Sadly,
our joy was short lived. In 2014, just a mere 3 years after the
grandiose announcement, shamelessly, the Prime Minister backtracked
on his word and announced that the Sedition Act is here to stay and
will be strengthened stripping away fundamental liberties of
Malaysians alike.
Prime
Minister Najib Razak could not be farther from the truth when he said
Malaysia will cease to be respected should be continue to lead the
country after the visit of the Ukrainian President recently.
A
nation is respected when it upholds fundamental liberties, civil
liberties and upholds the spirit of being the defender of human
rights. A nation is respected when its leaders do not abuse power,
siphon public funds for their own wealth and govern with
accountability and transparency. A nation is respected when there is
no corrosion in the sanctity of public institutions like the
judiciary, the MACC, and the Elections Commission. A nation is
respected when it stands by the right to life. A nation is respected
when laws that silence voices of conscience and the voices of
dissent, laws that blind the authorities against the inhuman
treatment of rights of the people, laws that discriminate, oppress
and suppress its people, tyrannical laws that protect political
criminals and laws that restrict freedom of speech – are all
abolished. Then, and only then, would a nation be respected.
The
Barisan Nasional government is not only authoritarian but autocratic
as well with the reinstating of the Sedition Act.
In
October 2014, four UN independent experts, including the Special
Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, called on Malaysia
to withdraw the Sedition Act as
it is conflicting and incompatible with international human rights
law. The experts recalled the commitment Malaysia made to the UN
Human Rights Council at the adoption of its Universal Periodic Review
in March 2014 to address international concerns on this matter.
However, the commitment remains just hollow, lifeless words as
democracy slowly starts to wither in Malaysia.
To
date, other Commonwealth
member states such
as the United
Kingdom, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Australia, and New Zealand have
repealed their sedition laws. Some
of there countries are even experiencing civil unrest in their
countries and yet took a bold step in the right direction to preserve
civil and fundamental liberties and to uphold the spirit of human
rights.
In
the spirit of Merdeka celebrations, Najib Razak should
prove that the
Barisan Nasional
administration is not autocratic and authoritarian by doing away with
the Sedition Act 1948.
I
call
upon Najib Razak as Prime Minister to end the repression of political
dissent by dropping all sedition charges and for all investigations
to cease and to abolish the Sedition Act 1948 without delay in the
true spirit of nationalism, patriotism and constitutionalism.
Kasthuri
Patto
Member
of Parliament for Batu Kawan, Malaysia's
Democratic
Action Party.
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