This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 12, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya intends to repeal the Sedition Act 1948 and replace it with a new law, according to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The government is in the midst of drafting the new law to replace the Act, Dr Mahathir said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

“Firstly, we need to withdraw the law, and for the new law [to replace Sedition Act], the status is that we are drafting it,” he said.

Dr Mahathir was commenting on a call by Pakatan Harapan Youth to the government to step up efforts to repeal the Sedition Act.

On the government’s decision to withdraw the National Security Council (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, Dr Mahathir said the withdrawal was meant to include more views from stakeholders.

“We found that there are various different views, and the law has to be studied, to include these ideas proposed to us,” he said.

The National Security Council (Amendment) Bill 2019 and the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, which were scheduled for second reading and debate in Dewan Rakyat, were withdrawn on Wednesday, Bernama reported.

Dr Mahathir said the government was also looking into the impact of the Johor state government’s decision to maintain the limit for youth at 40 years.

“We have to study whether the reason given is acceptable,” he was commenting on the Johor state government’s stand which was said to keep the age limit for youths to 40 years until the amendments to the Youth Societies and Youth Development Act 2007 are gazetted in 2021.

On July 3, Dewan Rakyat passed the Youth Societies and Youth Development (Amendment) Bill 2019 with the aim of reducing the age limit of youths from 40 to 30 years.

Asked about the cancellation of “The Amman Message” seminar organised by International Advanced Islamic Studies Institution scheduled on Saturday following a bomb threat by a Facebook user, Dr Mahathir said the threats were not the right way to act.

“If they want to welcome Buddhists or Shiah or whatever, it’s their right, as long as they don’t try to spread their teaching among the Malaysian Muslims, who are all Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah,” he said.