Cabinet Receives The First Draft Of New Law To Replace Sedition Act

The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) had presented the first draft of the National Harmony Bill to the cabinet last week, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri.

themalaysianinsider.com

“The Act must be studied thoroughly so that it will be equitable and fair for every strata of society. We wish to ensure that the people in Malaysia are united because the people in the country are made up of various religions and races,” she told reporters after making a visit to Wisma Bernama yesterday.

She said that the Prime Minister's Department was studying and looking at several examples of implementation in other countries such as Singapore and the United Kingdom. "The total population in our country and that of Singapore differs a lot but we take what is good to be used as an example," she said.

However, she said, the implementation of the proposed National Harmony Act that would replace the Sedition Act 1948 was still at the discussion stage and needed more time for study.

thesundaily.my

In July 2010, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that the government would repeal the Sedition Act 1948 and replace it with the National Harmony Act, under the Government’s Transformation Plan.

freemalaysiatoday.com

He said the new Act will safeguard the right to freedom of speech while protecting national unity by preventing incitement of religious or ethnic hatred.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Najib said the decision to replace the Sedition 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.

Najib said that the absence of an ideal balance could suppress the freedom of speech which was guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, hinder one's creativity and innovativeness or promote the spirit of chauvinism and extremism.

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"With this new act we would be better equipped to manage our national fault lines. It will also help to strengthen national cohesion by protecting national unity and nurturing religious harmony," he said.

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"The provisions proposed in the National Harmony Act will stress on inculcating the spirit of harmony and mutual respect in the Malaysian society made up of various races and religions," he said. He said the new bill would be more specific in nature and would enable the government to act against anyone using sensitive issues to break up national solidarity.

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The Prime Minister said the government would ensure that the provisions of the new act would not hinder the power to tackle acts that could cause hatred and humiliation or stoke the feelings of disloyalty to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or any Ruler.

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The proposed National Harmony Bill may be renamed once details are finalised, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nancy Shukri on Thursday. She said the Government planned to look at the elements and form of offences that could be included into the Bill, which may lead to a name change, she told reporters after launching the MIC legal and bankruptcy aid clinic.

The Law Minister said that the Bill, which is to replace the Sedition Act 1948, needs to highlight more "positive elements rather than offences."