ISA is long dead, Sedition Act to follow

Amid mounting pressure for the government to retain the Sedition Act and restore the Internal Security Act (ISA), there was no sign Putrajaya will bow to such demands.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had first made the promise to repeal the Sedition Act in 2012, and for the third time on Saturday reiterated it, prompting some parties - from pro-Umno social media players to moderate politicians - to criticise him.

Many would like to see reactions to the motion adopted by most of Umno's 195 divisions nationwide that the Sedition Act should stay.

What about ISA? No way!

KLUANG: The Government is not planning to bring back the Internal Security Act (ISA) as existing laws are sufficient to govern the country, but improvements need to be made in terms of enforcement.
Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (pic) admitted that there might be times where slow action was taken to enforce certain laws in the country and that has caused the people to call for the laws to be replaced or amended.
"I feel that our existing laws are enough and the issue here is not whether we should amend or replace the existing laws but to look at improving the laws that we already have," he said in a press conference here on Saturday.
He said that when asked by the media if there were plans to bring back the ISA as there were voices from the grassroots calling for such action.

However, will Najib bow to such pressure?

I think he will not but looking at the current situation - the increasingly out-of-control situation - the No.1 should at least give it a thought. As SOSMA (to replace ISA) is 'not functioning' and the Harmony Act (to replace the Sedition Act) will not find its way to the Parliament this year, a stringent law is what we need to put the house to order.

The Federal Territory Umno Youth is confident that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will not repeal the Sedition Act in line with demands from the party's grassroots.
Its chief, Mohd Razlan Muhammad Rafii, said any decision made by the government would be based on feedback from various levels, especially the Umno grassroots.
"I trust the prime minister will make a decision based on the views of the grassroots," he told The Malaysian Insider today.
Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim yesterday said that Umno divisions all over the country wanted the government to retain the Sedition Act and for the Internal Security Act to be restored as well.
Shahidan, who is also a minister, said an internal survey revealed that 161 out of the 191 Umno divisions wanted the act to stay, and that this number was set to increase.
Shahidan’s statement follows Najib’s third affirmation yesterday that the Sedition Act will go, and be replaced by the proposed national harmony laws.

I remember the day Najib announced the end of ISA at Angkasapuri. The opposition, anti-government NGOs and human rights groups, according to political analysts, were the winner and not Barisan Nasional, the people and the nation.

Najib - as our leader - should by now be able to weigh which is more important: national security and harmony or political gain!