Najib's failure to repeal Malaysia's sedition law worries critics

A former colonial regime introduced Malaysia's sedition law, banning speech deemed to incite unrest or religious or ethnic tensions, to combat a communist insurgency. Though it no longer serves that purpose it remains on the books, where it is open to abuse for political rather than security purposes to silence and detain government critics. Prime Minister Najib Razak's promise more than two years ago to replace it with a modern law against incitement of religious and ethnic intolerance was seen at the time to enhance his credentials as a reform-minded leader, founded on liberalisation of the economy, media and university restrictions.

That was before last year's election shock, in which the opposition won a majority of the popular vote but not in parliament, and a slide in Najib's ratings to below 50 per cent, driven by resentment of budget-deficit cutting and rising living costs. Now the promise to repeal the Sedition Act with its suppression of criticism has become a casualty of Najib's bid to shore up support in the ruling United Malays National Organisation.

Conservatives cheered when he told the party's annual congress he would not only maintain the law, but strengthen it and make it more effective. That did not come entirely as a surprise, given that this year the government has used the law to investigate, charge or convict around three dozen people, mainly opposition politicians including leader Anwar Ibrahim. This has led to accusations of the law being used to intimidate and silence a threat to the Umno's hold on power. To be sure, there were always doubts about Najib's sincerity and his core political support for repealing the law. They were fuelled by uncertainty over the replacement law, now abandoned, and the retention of other avenues for suppression of criticism.

The repeal plan fuelled hopes of a more tolerant society. Scrapping it raises fears of a return to authoritarian rule after decades of enviable economic development.