SHAH ALAM, 27 Aug: The government should immediately repeal the Sedition Act because it suppresses the people’s freedom of expression.
BERSIH 2.0 said that the Sedition Act is the government’s way to suppress expression and differences of opinion.
They said that the people’s confidence is important because they do not require any act to evaluate and make decisions when in the face of difference of opinion or provocative speeches.
“The Member of Parliament for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad, was charged merely for voicing his opinion on abolishing the executive power of the Selangor Religious Islamic Council (MAIS).
“The Assemblyman for Seri Delima, PSN Rayer, was also charged under the same act, while the Member of Parliament for Pandan, Rafizi Ramli, was investigated under the Sedition Act too,” they said in a press statement.
They said that a government that restricts the people’s freedom of expression and differences of opinion is a government that denies the people’s rights to make a choice in elections despite being from other fields.
“It is blatantly contrary to the spirit of democracy which has always celebrated the differences in arguments and views on things,” they added.
NS
