KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — In an open letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a group of NGOs under the banner of Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH) has called for the government to repeal the Sedition Act 1948.

The group comprised Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Aliran, Undi18, Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy, Bersih, Article 19, and Lawyers for Liberty.

The Act was incompatible with international standards of the right to freedom of expression due to its ambiguity, which grants authorities the discretion for arbitrary enforcement to criminalise speech and expression, the group asserted in a statement.

"Whilst amendments were made to the Act in 2015, it is still to this day being used by state actors to criminalise dissent, especially among activists, members of the media and opposition lawmakers.

"As long as the individual’s conduct, word or publication is perceived to have a ‘seditious tendency’, which broadly or loosely is defined at the whims of the government, the said individual can be investigated, arrested, detained or charged,” it said.

The group pointed to the parliamentary reply given by National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang yesterday, in which he said that the Act in question will be continued to be enforced alongside other existing laws to "handle any action that relates to racial or religious sensitivities”.

"Penalties under the Sedition Act 1948 are also disproportionately heavy, with first-time offences already incurring a hefty fine of RM5,000 or imprisonment of up to three years,” it added.

The group also said that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which is led by Anwar, had consistently promised to repeal or revoke the Act in its manifesto for the past two general elections.

"As the flagbearer of institutional reform, we ask that you break away from past cycles of repression and take concrete steps to repeal this archaic piece of legislation,” it said.

The freedom of expression is a fundamental right that the government must uphold regardless of politics or current sociocultural context because of its importance to democracy, it added.