Saifuddin: Najib sincere in repealing Sedition Act, hindered by ‘those around him’

By admin-s On Sep 16, 2014

(MMO) – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is being impeded in his effort to repeal the Sedition Act by unnamed individuals who insist that the colonial law should remain, a former deputy minister said today.

Defending the prime minister against accusations of backtracking on the pledge he made two years ago to abolish the law, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah tonight insisted that Najib made the vow sincerely.

“The prime minister has intentions to abolish the (Sedition) Act, but those around him don’t want to agree to the idea… they don’t want to let him‎,” Saifuddin said in his speech, during the launch of the Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH) movement here.

“When I was a deputy minister, it was also difficult to amend some laws as my boss did not want it, but in the end, it was done, though not entirely,” the former higher education deputy minister told the crowd.

Saifuddin did not, however, identify the individuals whom he said were stifling the effort to repeal the law.

He said that the contentious law must be done away with, noting that there was a very low threshold before one fell afoul of the law.

Putrajaya was forced in recent days to repeat its insistence that the Sedition Act will be repealed after a federal minister claimed that Najib never said the law will be abolished, but only reviewed.

In his speech during the opening of the Jerlun Umno divisional delegates meeting in Kedah, Najib also reiterated his stand that the Act will be repealed, to be replaced with the National Harmony Act.

Today, Saifuddin said Malaysia could not have a good democracy if it continued to nurture a culture of fear in the country.