By Lim Guan Eng, MP for Bagan
By publicly defending The 1948 Sedition Act as necessary to preserve peace and harmony in a multiracial society, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low is worse than his non-politician colleague Idris Jala, who spoke out against Sedition Act publicly but did not dare to raise his opposition inside Cabinet meetings. By defending the Sedition Act as necessary by reason that there must be a line between exercising free and responsible speech, and causing chaos in society as well as denying that BN was trying to instil fear or prevent the people from being critical of the establishment, Paul Low has changed from a civil society activist to be one who is no different from an UMNO or BN politician.
How can Paul Low be so blind, unfeeling and irresponsible as not to see that the Sedition Act is used as a political weapon of mass destruction against those opposing BN whom BN wants to eliminate? The double-standards and selective persecution by the Attorney-General has extended not just to PR leaders and elected representatives, but also to non-politician academics and law professors of top law schools in the country, that was widely condemned by all global human rights organisations.
Extremist and racists supporting BN, who make statements wanting to burn the Malay version of the Bible or even committing violence, including slapping Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and murder of PR leaders by beheading, are not charged for sedition. Even Marina Mahathir lamented that Utusan Malaysia enjoys full immunity, with full liberties to make the most seditious statements without any fear of punishment.
DAP regrets the transformation of Paul Low from “Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde”, by changing his stance from opposing to supporting sedition, as a cold and calculated act of opportunism to retain the perks and privileges of office as a Minister. He is now no longer guided by moral impulses and crusading ideals of freedom of speech, which he now regards as dangerous, but focused on the limitation of righteousness rather than the control of wickedness.
Nothing highlights the tyranny and repressiveness of the Sedition Act better than investigations carried out against DAP leader and MP for Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang recently and Parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. By reopening of the investigation against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim under the Sedition Act for a speech made 3 years ago, BN not only ignores the majority 52% mandate given to Pakatan Rakyat(PR) during the 2013 general election, but is going all out to end the political career of Malaysia’s Parliamentary Opposition Leader. Paul Low will now be part of the problem instead of his promised part of the solution.
