| Sedition Act 1948 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Citation | Act 15 |
| Territorial extent | Malaysia |
| Enacted | 1948 (Ordinance No. 14 of 1948) Revised: 1969 (Act 15 w.e.f. 14 April 1970) |
| Effective | Peninsular Malaysia–19 July 1948, Ord. No. 14 of 1948; Sabah–28 May 1964, L.N. 149/1964; Sarawak–20 November 1969, P.U. (A) 476/1969 |
| Amended by | |
| |
| Related legislation | |
| Sedition Act (Singapore) | |
| Keywords | |
| Lèse-majesté, sedition | |
| Status: In force | |
The Sedition Act 1948 (Malay: Akta Hasutan 1948) in Malaysia is a law prohibiting discourse deemed as seditious. The act was originally enacted by the colonial authorities of British Malaya in 1948 to contain the local communist insurgence.[1] The act criminalises speech with "seditious tendency", including that which would "bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against" the government or engender "feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races". The meaning of "seditious tendency" is defined in section 3 of the Sedition Act 1948 and in substance it is similar to the English common law definition of sedition, with modifications to suit local circumstances.[2] The Malaysian definition includes the questioning of certain portions of the Constitution of Malaysia, namely those pertaining to the Malaysian social contract, such as Article 153, which deals with special rights for the bumiputra (Malays and other indigenous peoples, who comprise over half the Malaysian population).
- ^ "What is Malaysia's sedition law?". BBC.
- ^ See for example James Fitzjames Stephen's "Digest of the Criminal Law" which states that under English law "a seditious intention is an intention to bring into hatred or contempt, or to exite disaffection against the person of His Majesty, his heirs or successors, or the government and constitution of the United Kingdom, as by law established, or either House of Parliament, or the administration of justice, or to excite His Majesty's subjects to attempt otherwise than by lawful means, the alteration of any matter in Church or State by law established, or to incite any person to commit any crime in disturbance of the peace, or to raise discontent or disaffection amongst His Majesty's subjects, or to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different classes of such subjects." The Malaysian definition has of course been modified to suit local circumstance and in particular, it includes acts or things done "to question any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of Part III of the Federal Constitution or Article 152, 153 or 181 of the Federal Constitution."
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