Don’t kiss goodbye to the Sedition Act yet
Sri A.K Rasa
The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) has completed three preliminary drafts on the National Harmony Act to replace the Sedition Act 1948.
According to a press statement issued by the NUCC Working Committee on Law and Policy headed by Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa on June 9, it is now inviting feedback and comments on the draft bills.
Those interested in reading the proposals, and I hope every Malaysian would be interested as it impacts him/her and his/her family, should take a look at the NUCC website – www.nucc.my
Mujahid’s committee has come out with three draft bills:
1. The Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill;
2. The National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill; and
3. The National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill.
The objectives of these bills are laudable, of course. The objective of the Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill is to promote and preserve national harmony “by punishing racial and religious hatred and protecting the right to freedom of speech and expression, and to provide for related matters”.
The objective of the National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill is “to prevent unfair discrimination of persons based on religion, race, descent, place of birth, gender, or disability and to provide for related matters”.
The objective of the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill is to form a National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission “to promote national harmony, unity, reconciliation, integration, equality and non-discrimination and to provide for related matters”.
The commission is basically a conflict management mechanism. There isn’t one at present, although aggrieved parties have recourse to the courts.
Mujahid and his deputy Lim Chee Wee stress that these bills “are not inconsistent with the Federal Constitution and do not seek to interfere with, derogate from nor question any provision of the Federal Constitution”.
They also insist that the bills are still a work in progress and not the final version.
The draft bills have had some airing and some members of the public have given their views at discussion sessions organised by Mujahid’s committee. The third such discussion was held on June 5. The NUCC itself has so far held town hall sessions called “Dialog Perpaduan” in 18 towns and cities. A total of 5,491 people attended these town hall sessions but only about a quarter of them gave their views, either verbally or in writing.
