Day: April 9, 2015

The Malaysian Insider
9 April 2015

Following in the footsteps of the 25 prominent Malays dubbed G25, a group of 47 Sabahans have sent an open letter to Putrajaya urging an end to extremism in the country, The Star reported today.

The group from Sabah raised concerns about Islamisation, attempts to convert natives of the state, polarisation, growing intolerance and federal government bodies asserting authority beyond their powers.

They said in their letter that “extreme and misguided actions in the name of Islamisation and religious intolerance is nothing but a threat to our national peace and stability”. Continue reading “After G25, prominent Sabahans tell Putrajaya to fight extremism”

by Elizabeth Zachariah
The Malaysian Insider
9 April 2015

Tempers flared at the Parliament tonight as opposition lawmakers attempted to end the meeting at 11.30pm as the government tried to push through four more bills.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo led the opposition charge and demanded sitting be suspended as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Wahid Omar attempted to wrap up the debate on the Malaysian Aviation Commission Bill 2015.

“It is not fair to debate four more bills tonight. And we finish at 4am. Tomorrow we have a very important Bill to discuss,” the DAP lawmaker said, referring to the amendments to the Sedition Act which is due for debate at tomorrow’s sitting.

“What is the urgency here? We cannot do it. We cannot debate it. We are not giving justice to the people.” Continue reading “Tempers in Parliament as Putrajaya pushes through 4 bills late night”

by Boo Su-Lyn
Malay Mail Online
April 9, 2015

APRIL 9 — We are just five years away from our goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020.

Yet,in this day and age, we still have a law dating back from the colonial times guarding our speech and worse, the government is attempting to enhance punishments under the Sedition Act 1948.

People convicted of seditious speech can be imprisoned for up to 20 years under the proposed Sedition Act amendments, with a minimum jail term set at three years. No bail is allowed either.

Speech deemed to be seditious under the Sedition (Amendment) Bill 2015 involve issues of race and religion, secession, the rulers, and Bumiputera privileges, among others.

These are matters crucial to our democracy that Malaysians are prohibited from discussing freely.

The revised Sedition Act outlaws exciting “ill will, hostility or hatred” on grounds of race and religion, but such terms are extremely vague. Continue reading “Why do we still need the Sedition Act?”

The Malay Mail Online
April 8, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — Kelantan’s hudud enactment violates the secular foundation upon which Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak had formed Malaysia, Sarawak churches said today.

The Kuching Ministers’ Fellowship (KMF), a network of church pastors and leaders in Sarawak, joined the Sabah Council of Churches in criticising the passing of the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code II Enactment 1993 (amendment 2015) last month in the east coast state run by Islamist party PAS.

“The recently-passed Kelantan hudud enactment is in direct contradiction to the aspirations of founding fathers of our nation to keep Malaysia a secular state as evidenced in several historical documents that explicitly state this,” KMF chairman Pastor Daron Tan said in a statement.

“The introduction of hudud law is a fundamental breach and deviation from the expressed commitment to complete religious freedom, a key term underpinning the Malaysia Agreement signed in July 1963 between Sarawak, Sabah and Malaya,” he added. Continue reading “Kelantan’s hudud breaks basis of secular Malaysia, Sarawak churches say”

by Boo Su-Lyn
The Malay Mail Online
April 9, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 9 — Critics of Putrajaya’s proposed amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 claim the changes would not only criminalise calls for Sabah and Sarawak’s secession from Malaysia but may also be abused to punish those seeking more rights for the east Malaysian states.

Once the revisions to the Act are approved and gazetted by both houses of Parliament, analysts and lawmakers alike fear that authorities may choose to interpret any demand for greater autonomy in east Malaysia as prompting secession.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah senior anthropology lecturer Dr Paul Porodong stressed that it should not be considered secession for east Malaysians to call for a review of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 — the treaty upon which Malaysian federation was founded — press for greater state autonomy, or to demand more oil royalties.

“My worry is they’ll lump everything into secession and silence the voice of the people,” Porodong told Malay Mail Online. Continue reading “In Sedition Act changes, detractors fear clampdown on calls for Borneo autonomy”

— Civil Society Organisations of Sabah and Sarawak
The Malay Mail Online
April 8, 2015

APRIL 8 — We — Civil Society Organisations of Sabah and Sarawak — hereby call for a thorough renegotiation of the Federal Constitution if Kelantan insists to enforce its Shariah Criminal Code II (1993) 2015.

We solemnly hold the following positions:

1. In forming Malaysia with Malaya and Singapore in 1963, Sabah and Sarawak signed up for a secular federation, not a theocratic one where any religious criminal justice system may be in force in any part of the Federation.

2. Religious freedom was amongst the top demands of Sabah and Sarawak in the Malaysia negotiations which produced the Inter-Governmental Committee Report and eventually the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. Sabah and Sarawak would not have been part of Malaysia if Shariah criminal law was an item in the negotiation.

3. Secular justice system on crimes as a federal jurisdiction is part of the entire constitutional package embodied in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution. Any fundamental change to this packaged deal requires a thorough renegotiation of the Federal Constitution. Continue reading “Renegotiate Federal Constitution if Kelantan must have hudud”