IN the storied history of the always anticipated Umno presidential policy speech as the highlight at the party’s annual General Assembly, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s delivery yesterday should be remembered as one of briefest at just 15 minutes over the hour.
Shortest it may be but in that 75-minute routine, Najib worked the audience into a frenzy as soon as he hit the 115th paragraph, the part when he, in a deliberately teasing fashion, announced that with the powers vested in him as prime minister, he resolved that the Sedition Act 1948 would “be retained”.
Boom! You’d have to be inside the cavernous Merdeka Hall to savour the euphoria, that sudden release of unrequited tension that amassed ever since the government announced the new bill to replace the Sedition Act, which was objected to, understatedly, with thickened trepidation.
The delegates’ reaction was spontaneous, as if they had witnessed Najib scoring a thunderous long-range goal, to use a football metaphor, as people unleashed waves of shouts, hoots, yells, whistles and screams so sustained that Najib felt compelled to pause for a minute before he could continue with his speech.
The last time an Umno president’s speech voluntarily suspended for more than this moment was when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dropped the bombshell that he was stepping down in 2002, just as he was concluding his winding-up speech.
Najib nursed the moment without videos and slides he sophisticatedly sprinkled throughout his speech, knowing that the announcement was the catharsis practically every Umno member needed. Prior to that moment of truth, Najib built up the anticipation by conceding that he had always known that the issue heatedly bouncing off everyone was the Sedition Act and, in true oratory style, pleaded for patience as the audience grew restless for what he was about to utter.
“I have listened to opinions and suggestions from the deputy president, Wanita, Youth and Puteri, their resolutions, the anxiety from the grassroots and views from non-governmental organisations,” he mused. “Therefore, I hereby as prime minister, decide that the Sedition Act 1948 be retained.”
When the reverberating elation finally settled, Najib reinforced the spell by promising that not only would the Sedition Act stay, it would be strengthened to shield the sanctity of Islam and other religions from contempt. The act would also act hard against anyone trying to instigate the secession of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.
“This will mean that whatever words, action or speech characterised as seditious and insults Islam, Malays and the monarchy will be stopped and thoroughly opposed,” he averred before a standing ovation, not only from the floor but from supreme council members.
As soon as Najib completed the Sedition Act declaration, there was already all round approval and howls of protest from the opposition, with one point of dissension being that whatever the Sedition Act sought to punish was already enshrined in the Constitution.
However, technically, it is not the same. Yes, the Constitution protects Islam as the official religion the right to practice other religions, the special position of Malays, Malay language, monarchy and citizenship of non-Malays.
But to pre-empt mischief or an ulterior agenda that might demand the abolition of these special provisions, the Sedition Act is there to punish the malcontent.
Let it be known that the more encompassing Sedition Act, as outlined by Najib, does not prohibit free speech, as argued by some critics. The opposite, in fact, will remain true: the PM, no matter what good he does, will still be harshly and freely criticised. Don’t scream the antithesis of what the Sedition Act seeks to uphold and you’ll be fine.
The idea that the Sedition Act and all that it reflects could be transfigured has been a very sobering education, even for Najib, who candidly admitted that he stood before Umno members, not just as PM and Umno president, but also as the a messenger to sent to perpetuate the legacy of the Malay Bumiputera struggle.
While the PM Najib raised a clutch of crucial contemporary issues, it was obvious from the delegates’ rapture that retaining and strengthening the Sedition Act was the totemic climax in an assembly that had willed on the PM to make that important announcement.
In that “wild” moment that popped out during the 115th paragraph of his speech, Najib galvanised Umno and rekindled confidence that Umno could assuredly confront future challenges but also as well as reaffirmed the faith that he is still the principal to lead party and nation.