YOURSAY 'Fine, let it stay but then will it be applied to all seditious cases or is there an exception clause which exempts BN stooges from being charged?'

Zahid nay to ending Sedition Act, says law still needed

Anonymous_5fb: Let me make Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's statement more complete:

"I think the Sedition Act need not be abolished. Otherwise, what is there left (for Umno to use against the opposition)?"

It's your selfish interest that you want the Act to be retained and kept as a tool to intimidate people who are irritating Umno. So, it is not the Act itself that is bad, but is bad for Umno without it.

Quigonbond: Zahid is conveniently forgetting there are such things called criminal defamation as well as civil defamation.

Those are enough to protect the innocent. The only reason to have sedition law is to protect those who are not innocent, who don't have the guts to bring a defamation suit against their critics.

Foo: We inherited this archaic law from our colonial masters who have themselves abolished it in their own country for quite some years now.

The whole reason why we still have this outdated law is because it is a very convenient and effective tool for selective persecution.

Otherwise, how can you explain why the opposition and NGOs who sing a different tune from Umno are the only ones prosecuted under this law?

No Fool: The Sedition Act should be abolished so that the undemocratic and corrupted minority government cannot abuse its power to arrest opposition politicians.

The rakyat are no fool and can clearly see the double standards practised by the BN government all this while.

Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Perkasa and Utusan Malaysia were not charged for whatever sedition statements they made but the BN government and police are very efficient in arresting opposition politicians using this law.

The rakyat are sick of such double standards and must insist on abolishing this unjust Sedition Act.

Bumiasli: The only sensible thing that Zahid has said so far is that crime rates are increasing.

As for Sedition Act, fine, let it stay but then will it be applied to all seditious cases or is there an exception clause which exempts BN stooges from being charged?

Aries46: Mr Minister, why blame the withdrawal of the Emergency Ordinance or whatever for the spike in crime? Any number of laws will not deter crime if they are applied selectively.

As for the Sedition Act, your reasons for retaining it are debatable but why is it being used in most instances against opposition-related activists and that too, on rather flimsy grounds?

What about those who openly breached the Act, such as ex-judge Mohd Noor Abdullah threatening non-Malays for voting opposition, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) pro-chancellor Abdul Rahman Arshad wanting to abolish vernacular schools , Utusan's frequent racist writings and the worst of the lot, former PM Mahathir forever blaming the non-Malays?

Those who openly defied the rulers have not been prosecuted. Even traitors who sold ICs (identity cards) to illegal immigrants are allowed a free reign. So where do you draw the line, minister?

If not, whatever you are saying will amount to nothing more than that the sedition laws have to be retained to stop those perceived as a threat to the regime.

Hold Awam Accountable: Zahid can neigh all he likes. A man who is facing a serious assault charge and one who was appointed to the cabinet by someone strongly implicated in the cover-up of a murder is not qualified to talk about the law.

Versey: Zahid, please tell us, did your predecessor, the ex- and present IGPs lie to the public about the dropping crime rate or the crime rate has increased since you come into the office?

To the rakyat, it sounds either the former are liars and not trustworthy or there are issues about your abilities in the job. Can we still believe in the KPI (key performance indicators) figures so proudly presented to the public by your colleagues?

FairGame: The abolition of EO did not contribute to the increase in crime. It is the police's failure and lackadaisical attitude in combating crime.

More so, when they are more inclined to pander and preoccupied with the government's campaign to harass and intimidate the opposition parties.

And the Sedition Act has outlived its shelf life. Today, its sole purpose is used to silence the opposition.

Onyourtoes: Democracy does not need the Sedition Act. Democracy does not need selective investigation, selective prosecution and selective persecution. Democracy needs free contest of ideas and access to media so that fictions and falsehoods can be sieved from truth and facts.

Truth will always prevail if ideas are vigorously debated. The law on sedition as it exists today allows one group to perpetuate falsehood and foment hatred while victimises another group that tries defend itself. If you can't see it, you are a nincompoop.

With regard to EO, I don't think you, Zahid, have the statistics to back up what you inferred. EO has made Malaysian police force into a brutal force, not a force based on law and justice.

Think_Act_Live_Now: Zahid, "nothing left" for what? Nothing left for BN folks to silence their opposition? Nothing left to protect BN from the people exposing the truth?

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