The proposed National Harmony Act, which would replace the existing Sedition Act 1948, is not likely to be tabled any time this year, according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri.
Nancy said it was difficult to set the time frame for completing the draft of the National Harmony Bill, which was proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak a little over two years ago as part of his raft of legislative reforms.
Nancy said part of the hold-up was due to the Attorney-General’s Chamber still studying feedback it had received from various interested parties while cooperating with the National Unity Department to come up with a comprehensive bill.
“We need to really consider…(it) is better to have something that is really useful to the people, something that will help (to unite) the people instead of causing more break ups among the people. You see that what is happening now is provocation through the social media,” she said, as reported by The Malay Mail Online.
The National Harmony Act in theory would embody the PM’s reformist ideals by way of offering more avenues for free speech and expression than the existing Sedition Act 1948 allows for.
Since its proposal, some quarters have expressed their concern over allowances in the new law for what is perceived as negative social practices such as LGBTQ rights and religious pluralism. UMNO Youth chief and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin also demanded recently that the new National Harmony Act preserve existing protections for the special privileges of Malaysian Malays, the sanctity of Islam in the country, and the status of the Malay language.
See Also:
UMNO Youth: Preserve Sedition Act’s protection for Malay special rights
Reader Interactions