Press Statement by YB Dato Mah Siew Keong, Gerakan National President (27/11/2014) Gerakan believes that the Sedition Act must be implemented fairly and judiciously. The public dissatisfaction over the use of the Sedition Act stems from the perceived selective use of the act and also its overuse especially on academics and public intellectuals. Furthermore, the failure to charge Datuk Ibrahim Ali over the call to burn the Malay language Bibles has fueled the perception that the act has not been used in a fair and just manner. Gerakans fervent hope is that the Sedition Act will eventually be replaced with a comprehensive National Harmony Act. The new framework must include a set of punitive and positive measures to ensure societal stability but at the same time promotes national unity and harmony. It is indeed a long struggle similar to the push to repeal the Internal Security Act which took close to 20 years. However in line with the growing tide of democratization I believe this will eventually happen when all parties are ready and open minded about a need for a new set of laws that confronts the current and impending challenges to national unity and harmony. I also call on all parties, government and non-government, to continue to engage each other on the need for a new national harmony framework. In the meantime I urge the authorities to act without fear and favour and do not abuse the Sedition Act to silence legitimate political dissent and investigate and charge all parties who seek to unravel our national unity and harmony. #ends
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 07:36:37 +0000