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The Malaysian Bar welcomes the High Court’s decision to acquit lawyer and Member of Parliament YB Karpal Singh of charges under the Sedition Act 1948 for his statements, made over a year ago, on the removal of the Perak Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Nizar Jamaluddin by HRH Sultan Azlan Shah.  

The Malaysian Bar has been a staunch and unfaltering advocate of the repeal of the Sedition Act.  We have been resolute in our stand that the Act is an authoritarian, repressive and anachronistic law that has long outlived any perceived utility it might ever have had.  It is an absolute affront to democracy, as it severely encroaches upon the public enjoyment and exercise of the fundamental civil liberties enshrined in our Constitution.  Furthermore, it has been wielded selectively, to prosecute, in particular, those whose viewpoints differ from the ruling government’s. 

We urge the government to demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law and to democratic processes by encouraging open discourse on issues of concern to the Malaysian public.  We also call on the Government to repeal the Act, and to refrain from using it, particularly as a means of stifling debate and exchange of opinions.

Freedom of expression is an indisputable hallmark of any democracy and must be safeguarded jealously if Malaysia is to lay any claim to being a democratic nation.

 
Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar

14 June 2010