PKR MP moots anti hate speech laws to curb racial attacks
SHAH ALAM - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Communications Director Lee Chean Chung has suggested that an Anti-Hate Act be enacted in order to bring justice upon those who spread baseless hateful discourse.
The Petaling Jaya member of parliament said that the Act could also be applied to politicians and that such laws are already being enforced in some countries.
“These people (politicians) will be subject to action if they issue baseless, hateful statements," he said.
"There is no country in the world that has succeeded in building a developed country by playing on racial sentiments.
"We should hold politicians accountable for working hard for the people, focusing on economic issues and not being experts in providing politics of sentiment," he said in a post on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
Chean Chung asserted that the people's trust in the government will be eroded if such politics continue to be played by politicians in the future.
He said this will not help the government focus on economic development policies and the happiness of the people.
"It is typical for the general public and the opposition to keep tabs on and criticise the administration, but we must look at the specifics of their criticisms.
"When a certain political coalition that plays on sentiment does not work and the people become poorer, they easily distract the people by using racial and religious sentiments. Their attacks then focused on that alone (racial and religious sentiment)," he said.
"This kind of propaganda did not only happen recently but a few months before the election and became more intense after the dissolution of Parliament," he said.
