The Bar Council is shocked and disappointed that the authorities have resorted to charging Raja Petra Kamaruddin under the Sedition Act over an article he authored and posted on his Malaysia Today website.
The Sedition Act is a draconian, archaic and repressive piece of legislation that has long outlived any perceived utility it might ever have had. This statute is incompatible with the progressive, open and democratic society that we had believed Malaysia was becoming. The Bar Council has in the past commended the opening up of democratic space in this country. However, the use of the Sedition Act and other repressive legislation like the OSA, ISA, the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Police Act is disconcerting, and lends credence to the view that in fact the democratic space in Malaysia is still severely curtailed.
The Sedition Act and other authoritarian laws represent a severe encroachment on the fundamental freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. These fundamental civil liberties are indisputable hallmarks of any democracy and must be safeguarded if Malaysia is to lay any claim to being a democratic nation.
The use of the Sedition Act in contemporary Malaysia (coming a few days after World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on 3rd May 2008) is also incompatible with the Home Ministry’s recently announced intention to loosen the annual licensing requirements for newspapers. The Bar Council had hoped that this signalled the first of many reforms that would herald a new era of openness and transparency.
To show commitment to the rule of law and the democratic process, the government should repeal such repressive legislation and focus instead on encouraging open discourse on issues of concern to the Malaysian public. In the meantime, the authorities should refrain from using such repressive laws. We call on the authorities to immediately withdraw the charge against Raja Petra Kamaruddin.
Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan
President
Malaysian Bar
PEOPLE'S POWER
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