Pouring scorn on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement in July last year that the Sedition Act 1948 would be abolished, he stressed that the legislation is instead being “activated” against the opposition in a seeming return of “Mahathirism”. [Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad For Prime Minister]
Najib, who is also BN chairman and Umno president, had announced in July last year that the legislation would be repealed and replaced with a National Harmony Act.
“But far from it, this legacy of the British is being activated against leaders of the opposition. We are having another era of Mahathirism,” Karpal, who is Bukit Gelugor MP, said at a press conference in Ayer Itam here today.
He expressed concern at the arrests under the Sedition Act of PKR vice-president Tian Chua, PAS activist Datuk Tamrin Abdul Ghafar and Asalkan Bukan Umno (Anything But Umno) coordinator Haris Ibrahim yesterday.
“With their arrests yesterday it is obvious that another Ops Lalang is in the offing,” he said in reference to the mass arrests of 106 mostly opposition figures in October 1987.
“I’m surprised that the freshly minted Home Minister (Datuk Seri) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has decided to go on a rampage,” Karpal said.
“He keeps saying that this is a police operation and nothing to do with him. That is basically a lie because he is the Home Minister responsible for the actions of the police, and no IGP (Inspector General of Police) acts without sanction from the Home Minister,” he claimed.
“This is the beginning of (more) coming arrests by the looks of it,” he said. “The Pakatan Rakyat will not be intimidated by such strong-arm tactics on the part of the minister of home affairs.”
Student activist Adam Adli Abd Halim was also charged yesterday under the Sedition Act, while certain members of teams that have organised rallies after the 13th General Election (GE13) are reportedly also being eyed to be hauled up by the police.
Karpal stressed that the huge numbers at the ‘Black 505’ gatherings to protest alleged improprieties in GE13 show that the people are angry with the BN government.
He also reminded Najib to note that 51% of the voters in the country who voted for Pakatan Rakyat in GE13 had “rejected” the BN. “And until and unless there is reconciliation with the 51%, there cannot be proper administration of the government in the country,” Karpal said.
On another matter, Karpal called on the Election Commission to invoke a clause in the Federal Constitution which stipulates that elections can be held for senators from each state.
He said if the government refuses to act on the matter, he would move a private member’s bill in the next meeting of Parliament for such elections to take place.
He said the government needs to provide for a law that can put into effect elections for the senators.
According to Article 45(4)(b) of the Federal Constitution, Parliament may by law "provide that the members (of Senate) to be elected by each State shall be so elected by the direct vote of the electors of that State".
Currently, two senators are appointed by each state government, while four senators from the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong together with forty others.
Karpal stressed that at the least, the three Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states of Penang, Selangor and Kelantan should take the lead and hold elections for the two individuals they are each appointing to the Senate for a three-year term.
He said elections would be the next best option if his earlier call to have the Senate abolished altogether is unheeded, so as to have members more accountable to the voting public.
Karpal had last week opined that the Senate should be abolished through an amendment in the Federal Constitution. He reasoned that currently the Senate serves no useful purpose and is an unnecessary expense required to be borne by the people.
"It only encourages those who have been rejected by the people or others to be brought into Parliament through the back door via the Senate, as in law Parliament also includes the Senate," he had said, referring to the BN’s move to give non-elected individuals federal cabinet positions by way of making them senators.
The call had prompted current Senate President Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang to rebuke Karpal to "respect the rule of law and our constitution."
Karpal today retorted that it is not a question of disrespecting the constitution, but seeking an amendment to the constitution as the BN federal government has already done several times in the past.
Noting that the Senate president himself is appointed, Karpal quipped: “He has no business to teach me the law… He presides over people who are below par, who are deadwood.”
Source FZ
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