It’s always an awkward moment when a neighbour tells you knock something off, and it’s even more so when said neighbour is a sovereign nation half a planet away.
But that’s exactly what happened when Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird stuck his neck out to urge Malaysia’s Federal Government to stop using the Sedition Act 1948 to stifle political dissent.
In a statement from his ministry in Ottawa, Baird reminded Putrajaya, “Freedom of expression is essential to any democracy, and we look forward to seeing progress on this issue .
“Canada values its long-standing and warm relationship with Malaysia and the Malaysian people, and we will continue to work together in pursuit of freedom, prosperity and security,” the statement goes on to say, as quoted by The Malay Mail Online.
The Federal Government has been under scrutiny for allegedly using the Sedition Act and other parts of the country’s judicial system to clamp down on free speech and political dissent.
Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged to abolish the Sedition Act as part of a raft of reforms in 2012, but backtracked on that promise last November at the UMNO General Assembly, vowing instead to strengthen the law with a number of proposed amendments.
The amendments to the Sedition Act will be tabled at the opening session of Parliament in March.
