Supporters of preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin hold a candlelight vigil outside the Kajang Prison July 9, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The government now needs to study the suitability of repealing the Sedition Act 1948, the prime minister said today after questions over its delay that led to the recent jailing of Muslim preacher and PKR member Wan Ji Wan Hussin.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad conceded his Pakatan Harapan government had delayed initiatives to repeal the controversial law after promising to do so if it won the general election last year.
“After we have studied the law again to find out whether it is suitable or not, we will bring back to Parliament,” he told reporters who asked him the timeline to repeal the Act.
Wan Ji, who was found guilty of making seditious remarks against the sultan of Selangor seven years ago, lost his conviction appeal at the High Court in Shah Alam, Selangor yesterday,
High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman even raised the preacher’s sentence from nine months to 12.
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