AktaHasutan Thinking Beyond Tweets

#AktaHasutan: Thinking Beyond Tweets The Tweets I warn you, this article will neither be just as pithy nor as punchy as #MansuhAktaHasutan or #KekalAktaHasutan. And it will be definitel y longer than 140 characters. At time of writing, these two hashtags have reached 423,219 individuals 1 . Certainly not bad. But, stop there before you switch to Twitter. Ask yourself: what's in a hashtag? What, precisely, is the meaning conveyed to via these hashtags? After all, they, on their own, d o not tell anyone: a) The point in time we suggest for abolition/continuance of the Act. b) Any pre-conditions that we think necessary for the said abolition/continuance. c) What we feel should be done in the interim, until we, as a nation , agree what to do. The Bar Council's 3 demands are more helpful in providing a unifying and coherent stance for the #Mansuh camp (I have yet to find an equivalent for the #Kekal camp): 1. Abolish the Sedition Act 2. Not replace it with a similar law 3. Drop all charges under the act. But, they are not helpful enough. True, the Bar Council's position on what to d o in the interim is clear. And, it would seem that they're arguing for immediate abolition. But, what kind of law is "similar" and what is "not similar"? The Council considers the NUCC"s Harmony Bills to be sufficiently dis similar. But, what else? And, why? On Being heong Hei You may ask: why the above exegesis? Asyik berkhutbah je. Mansuh, mansuhlah. Kekal, kekallah. Apa lagi? I admit, the social media campaign has drummed up significant publicity on this issue. But, I have three reasons for why we need to think more deeply about the Sedition Act after (preferably, before) tweeting. Firstly, we as citizens have to live up to the oft -cited notion of Malaysian society becoming one of thinkers and Malaysian politics transforming into one of ideas . Especially if that's your justification for abolishing the Sedition Act. After all, the most important office in a democracy is that of citizen. Cliché Brandeis but true. Secondly, the sedition in Malaysia is not just any other legal issue. It involves significant and fundamental issues about the constitution, political discourse, moral philosophy, academic freedom, government policy, political correctness and language & meaning. Because Sedi tion Act is so deeply embedded in the nation's socio-political fabric, it is especially crucial that we do not leave to politicia ns the serious conversations that need to be made. Finally, because the aforementioned questions are difficult and complex, it is equally important that we decide what to do temporarily - that is, until we c omplete the arduous but necessary task of building some measure of societal and political c onsensus on their answers 1 According to www.hashtracking.com

AktaHasutan Thinking Beyond Tweets

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