Paul Low should resign from the Cabinet for not supporting PM’s promise to repeal the Sedition Act

Press Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on September 26, 2014

Paul Low should resign from the Cabinet for not supporting PM’s promise to repeal the Sedition Act 

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low had yesterday defended the use of Sedition Act 1948 at the International Law conference. 

It did not surprise me that Pual has become a defender of the draconian Act after he became an apologist for government’s wrong doings last year.

Last year, when there were strong and widespread public resentment against the abuses, wastage and inefficiencies revealed in the Auditor General Report, instead of telling the public what were the actions that would be taken against the culprits and the effective steps to minimize the defects, Paul said it would be unrealistic to expect zero defects in government agencies and that private firms also had their fair share of governance problems.

He added that not all the revelations in the reports are related to corruption, there were possibilities that the officers also lacked the skills and knowledge in carrying out their jobs.

What an apologist!

Yesterday, Paul said that the Sedition Act is needed to preserve peace and harmony in a multiracial society.

“Some are insecure while others are aggresive. How do you maintain harmony?" he said in response to a question by former Bar Council chairman Datuk Ambiga, during a law conference on whether the colonial-era law should be repealed.

Let me first ask Paul if he understood why the Prime Minister made the promise in 2012 to repeal the Act? Secondly, why is he breaking ranks with the Prime Minister on this issue? 

Can Paul deny that the recent sedition blitz is plain selective prosecution when only government critics are targeted?  

Last year, Paul Low had tried to defend the government agencies’ wrong doings by saying that it would be unrealistic to expect zero defects. But the fact is no MP has ever said that there must be zero defects. 

Yesterday Paul said he did not agree with absolute freedom and felt some form of restriction must exist. The question is who has been asking for absolute freedom? What Malaysians ask for is democratic freedom, not absolute freedom.

Paul must be the most confused Minister when he talked about zero defects and absolute freedom.  But he must not confuse the people. 

In fact, for not being prepared to support the Prime Minister’s promise to repeal the draconian Sedition Act, Paul who has been a big let down to those who have high expectation of him to uphold human rights and democratic principles, should resign from the Cabinet.