Malaysian PM Najib Razak reverses vow to scrap anti-sedition laws

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Malaysian PM Najib Razak reverses vow to scrap anti-sedition laws

Opposition warns of move back to authoritarian rule as prime minister reverses vow to scrap act

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 27 November, 2014, 9:32pm
UPDATED : Friday, 28 November, 2014, 3:29am

Agence France-Presse in Kuala Lumpur

Najib Razak said the Sedition Act would "be strengthened and made more effective".

Malaysia's prime minister yesterday abandoned plans to repeal a controversial sedition law increasingly used against his regime's political opponents, as the opposition warned of a lurch back to authoritarian rule.

Prime Minister Najib Razak vowed in 2012 to abolish the British colonial-era Sedition Act, promising to move away from his regime's authoritarian tactics in an attempt to shore up dwindling voter support.

But Najib yesterday told his ruling party's annual congress the law would be retained and even enhanced, apparently bowing to pressure from conservatives who advocate a tougher hand in response to a series of electoral setbacks.

"As prime minister, I have decided that the Sedition Act will be maintained," Najib told cheering delegates from his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

He said the law would "be strengthened and made more effective", drawing applause.

Critics accuse the government of using the sedition law to intimidate and silence an opposition movement that is threatening UMNO's hold on power.

Around three dozen people - mostly opposition politicians, including leader Anwar Ibrahim - have been investigated, charged or convicted for sedition this year. The crackdown has been widely condemned by rights groups and criticised by the US embassy in Malaysia.

Anwar accused Najib of caving to "rightists and racists" in the ruling establishment who are "instilling a culture of fear" in order to cling to power.

"This is the start of authoritarian rule by Najib," Anwar said. "They will use the sedition law to intimidate the legitimate voice of the opposition."

The Sedition Act, imposed by the British to quell a communist rebellion decades ago, outlaws speech deemed to incite unrest, racial or religious tensions, or insult Malaysia's ceremonial Islamic royalty. It carries a term of up to three years in jail.

Rights groups condemned Najib's move, with Human Rights Watch calling it a "major reversal on human rights."

"Social activists and political opposition figures are likely to face a renewed crackdown that will be discriminatory and politically motivated," said Phil Robertson, the group's deputy Asia director.

UMNO has dominated multi-racial Malaysia since independence in 1957, presiding over decades of enviable economic development under a system that guarantees ethnic Malays political pre-eminence and a range of preferential policies.

But in elections last year, the opposition shocked UMNO by winning a majority of the popular vote for the first time, although it failed to secure a majority in parliament.

Malays make up about two-thirds of the population, which also includes sizeable Chinese and Indian minorities.