DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng has called the other parties that make up the BN alliance just “stooges and sycophants” of UMNO, seeing that they were not consulted when the Malay party had decided unilaterally to maintain and fortify the Sedition Act.

“If Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak can blithely break his thrice-repeated promise to repeal the Sedition Act without consulting the Cabinet, can he be trusted to keep his promises to fight corruption, reduce debts and income inequality as well as not close down Chinese and Tamil schools when MCA, MIC, Gerakan, SUPP and PBS are political parasites that are stooges and sycophants of UMNO?”

Najib had said that the decision was made after taking into consideration views of UMNO leaders, NGOs (believed to be Perkasa and ISMA), and UMNO supporters – not the other non –Malay component parties.

This, Lim says meant that the other component parties in BN were just “enjoying the perks and privileges of Ministerial office”.

MIC Deputy President S. Subramaniam also confirmed that neither they nor Cabinet were consulted before the decision was made.

In his terse statement today, Lim said that this confirmed BN component parties’ status as mere “political parasites that are UMNO stooges”.

Pic courtesy of The Malaysian Insider

“Despite this humiliation by Najib, or MCA and Gerakan’s earlier call to abolish the Sedition Act, we can expect both MCA and Gerakan leaders to obediently support and comply with UMNO to impose even harsher restrictions in the Sedition Act,” said Lim.

He explained that if UMNO leaders were capable of pressuring the Prime Minister to break his promise to repeal the Act, “28 million Malaysians are no longer that naïve to rely on Najib keeping his other promises on preserving vernacular schools, or fighting corruption or reducing debt and income inequality.”

Lim said that Najib would not deliver on promises made as the Prime Minister, as he was more committed to UMNO.

“Where is UMNO’s commitment towards fighting corruption or the extraordinary wealth and unexplained wealth of certain individuals when these issues are never raised in the UMNO General Assembly?” Lim asked, seeing that during the UMNO General Assembly meeting, the issues of corruption within UMNO were drowned out by calls to protect the Malay race from insults of other races, religions and other liberal Malays.

“This is typical UMNO fashion of blaming others for their own wrongdoings and misdeeds, especially bashing up the Chinese community for UMNO losing electoral seats, though it is the Malays that are not supporting UMNO,” Lim opined.

He asked that UMNO Ministers take heed of former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s advice – that retaining the Sedition Act is not a solution to UMNO retaining power in the next general elections.

The Sedition Act should stay because Malaysians gave Najib “nightmares”

Lim also expressed his disappointment for Urban Well-Being, Housing And Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who blamed the people who, according to Rahman, are the reason that the Act still remained. Rahman said that Najib was forced to do so because the people had given him “nightmares” upon promising to repeal the Act two years ago. These nightmares, Rahman said, were when the people “behaved like idiots”, forcing Najib to retain the Act many consider to be archaic.

However, this year alone saw the Act used exclusively on voices critical of the government and not against the incitement of racial hatred. Most targets of the Sedition Act have been opposition politicians. Other than Pakatan politicians, the Act was also used against academics like Azmi Sharom and Aziz Bari for expressing their professional opinions on law and the constitution.

NGOs such as Perkasa on the other hand, who have called for bibles to be burnt in the defense of the Islamic faith were not charged under the Act. Ironically, Perkasa has been very supportive of retaining the Act, even threatening to withdraw their support for UMNO were the Act abolished.

Opposition leaders such as DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang believe that the shock announcement to keep the Act at the UMNO General Assembly meeting yesterday was a result of Najib buckling under pressure from rightist and extremists in UMNO and also from UMNO sponsored NGOs.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok also weighed in on the UMNO move, reminding the public that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said in 2011, that his efforts to reform the Malay party was “opposed not just by those outside but also those from within.”

“There are hardliners who want to maintain the old system, controlling the flow of information and using laws to silence the public. Najib may face the same challenges I did before. The job of a reformist is not easy, “said Ahmad Badawi when hardliners in Barisan Nasional had resisted plans the abolish the then Internal Security Act.

According to Badawi, the hardliners wanted to maintain the “old ways to silence critics”.

“So it is sad that like Abdullah, Najib lacks the courage and has to bow to a party that cannot reform despite all his talks that Umno and BN must reform, said Teresa Kok.

On top of retaining the Sedition Act, Najib’s announced to “strengthen” it with provisions to protect the Islamic religion, other religions and to act against those who call for the secession of Sabah and Sarawak. Najib said that this would ensure peace and stability in the nation.

The Malaysian Bar said that it is ludicrous that Malaysians were prohibited from discussing and debating issues of public and national interest.

“This is highly oppressive, and represents a lurch towards authoritarianism. It is delusional to imagine that such draconian legislation would foster national peace and harmony,” said Christopher Leong, President of the Malaysian Bar.

He said that in many instances in Malaysia, disharmony arose from insecurity, and the exploitation of such insecurities. Leong added that the unwillingness to deal with questions, criticisms or differing views in a mature manner, led to the unrest in the nation.

The UMNO General Assembly meeting this year was marked by video montages on May 13, insults against Malays and royalty, and playing up the “threat” of non-Malays challenging the rights of Malays in the constitution; a threat that opposition leaders have dismissed as lies and fabrications. -The Rocket