No political will to abolish Sedition Act, says Ramkarpal

K PRAGALATH

There is a lack of political will to abolish the Sedition Act, said Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh who is also DAP’s legal bureau chief.

He called upon the government to abolish the act altogether, or at the very least reform it.

“I have raised this issue in Parliament in the past but there seems to be a lack of political will to effect the necessary reforms to at least make intention relevant under the said act,” he said in a statement.

“In the circumstances, I call upon the Government to urgently review the said Act with a view to its total abolition or at the very least, to reform it.

“There can be no doubt that this is an urgent reform a which should not be further delayed.”

He said this in reaction to the police probe on activist Fahmi Reza.

Ramkarpal said that the Sedition Act is flawed as it failed to distinguish between those who are genuine in their speech and who speak the truth and those who are not genuine and who wish to incite hatred and violence, as the reason or reasons they said what they said are irrelevant.

“For context, how would Fahmi be able to effectively defend himself if his intention or reasons behind what he supposedly said is not taken into account in the investigation process and later in court in the event he is charged?

“Amending the said Act to make intention relevant would also allow for judicial discretion in that a court would be able to assess objectively if an accused person intended to incite hatred and violence from his words, the same way a court is entitled to assess if a person had the necessary intention to murder or not.

“If he did not, then the court may acquit him or convict him for a lesser offence such as manslaughter.

“In light of the above, I am firmly of the view that no one should be investigated or charged under the said Act, including Fahmi.

He also reminded Pakatan Harapan that it pledged to do away with draconian laws, such as the Sedition Act, in the election manifestos for the 2018 and 2022 general elections.