PUTRAJAYA remains undecided about repealing the Sedition Act 1948, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today, as criticism mounts against the ruling coalition over its failure to keep an election promise.

Muhyiddin said the colonial-era law was still under review and the government has yet to decide whether it should be amended or abolished completely.

“Although we have committed ourselves to looking into it, it is still in the process of being reviewed.

“It is one of those laws we have promised to look into to see if there are provisions deemed draconian,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

“We haven’t finalised a decision. We promised to look into it to see whether it should be repealed or amended.”

Muhyiddin was commenting on the enhanced sentence under the act after independent preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin was jailed for insulting the Selangor sultan on Facebook seven years ago.

In the Shah Alam High Court yesterday, Wan Ji failed to strike out his conviction by the Sessions Court and ended up being slapped with three more months in jail on top of his initial sentence of nine months. He began his year-long sentence yesterday.

Wan Ji is also the sole breadwinner to a family of five children.

Civil society blamed Wan Ji’s plight on Pakatan Harapan’s failure to repeal the act.

Muhyiddin declined to comment on Wan Ji’s case, saying it had gone through the courts because the Sedition Act was still in force.

“This is a court case. Maybe Wan Ji was charged because the act has not been repealed.

“I don’t want to talk about the decision of the court because it will be a sub judice and contempt of court.”

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad also told reporters at the Parliament lobby today that the government was looking into the act.

“After we have studied the (act) to find out whether it is suitable or not, we will bring it to Parliament,” he said when asked on the repeal process.

Asked about Wan Ji’s case, Dr Mahathir said he was not aware of the matter. – July 10, 2019.