KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Authorities invoked the Sedition Act 28 times in 2023 versus 17 in the previous year, the Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) group said in its 2024 Human Rights report launched today.

"Suaram’s media monitoring of Sedition Act 1948 cases documented a spike by close to 65 per cent between 2022 and 2023, with corresponding increases in the number of investigations, arrests and charges conducted,” it said in its report.

It said four cases were prosecuted in 2023 including three from incidents occurring in the same year, and all of which involved politicians.

Suaram noted that this meant only 10 per cent of the cases in 2023 were brought to court.

It cited this as evidence that the law was used stifle dissent by way of police investigation.

Suaram further said under half of the cases in 2023 were related to insults against the Royalty, contradicting the government’s justification for retaining the colonial era law.