Statement from Bar Council:
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 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.
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