UMNO and the Seditious speeches
An Articles of Law written by BHAG SINGH (The Star)
SPEECHES made by some speakers at the recently concluded Umno General Assembly have come under scrutiny for their content that has been viewed by many as capable of causing discord and disrupting racial harmony.
People do think in different ways. Some say that this is mere rhetoric at the assembly to play to the gallery and should not be taken seriously. Others, of course, view such statements with grave concern and take the view that some such statements border on, if not, constitute sedition.
Our Prime Minister is on record prior to the assembly as asking the delegates “to be fair, just and careful and not to hurt the feelings of component party members when raising issues”.
However after the assembly, in response to public unhappiness with speakers who touched on racial and religious issues, he reminded everyone that race and religious issues are still very sensitive matters.
Whether any of the statements were seditious would no doubt depend on what was actually said and the effect of those words. But many readers are curious to know whether if what was said was seditious, is it permitted just because it was said at such an assembly?
A statement becomes seditious if it has a seditious tendency. And the Sedition Act 1948 says that it is such a tendency if it promotes feelings of ill will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Malaysia. It is also seditious to touch on the sensitive issues namely citizenship, the national language and the languages of other communities, the special position and privileges of the Malays as well as the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interest of the other communities in Malaysia and the sovereignty of the rulers.
Whilst many parts of the Sedition Act 1948 are inherited from the British legislation, the provisions above referred to are unique to Malaysia and are intended to curb and prohibit public discussion of sensitive issues after the events of May 13, 1969.
At the time this was done, the late Tun Abdul Razak, our then Prime Minister, referred to this event as marking “the darkest period in our national history” and went on to say that the purpose of the legislation was to remove “certain sensitive issues from the realm of public discussion so as to ensure the smooth and continuing function of Parliamentary democracy in this country”.
Therefore, it is relevant to remember the often restated reminder by the Courts that the light of freedom of speech recedes where the darkness of sedition begins. The line is drawn as was said by Raja Azlan Shah J (as he then was) in the following words: “The right to free speech ceases at the point where it comes within the mischief of the Sedition Act”.
It is not open for a person making seditious statements to say that such words are only for the consumption of the assembly and that there was no intention to promote feelings of ill will and hostility because Section 3(3) of the Sedition Act 1948 states: “For the purpose of proving the commission of any offence against this Act the intention of the person charged at the time he .... uttered any seditious words ...., .... shall be deemed to be irrelevant if in fact the act had, or would, if done, have had, or the words, publication, or thing had a seditious tendency.”
It is in the light of this when sitting in judgment in a prosecution instituted under the Sedition Act that Raja Azlan Shah J said more than 30 years ago that: “It is impossible to spell out any requirement of intention to incite violence, tumult or public disorder in order to constitute sedition under the Sedition Act.”
Almost 35 years ago when the Utusan Melayu in its issue of April 6, 1971 published an article based on a speech given by member of Parliament Musa Hitam (now Tun) at the National Education Congress, a successful prosecution followed against the sub-editor of the newspaper for creating a sub-heading which read “Abolish Tamil or Chinese medium school in the Country”.
Most statements made in Parliament at least enjoy immunity from prosecution or civil suit. This allows statements to be made in Parliament which would not be permissible elsewhere. No doubt there are Parliamentary rules and regulations to regulate inappropriate language and conduct within the House. But even in Parliament there is no immunity against seditious words or statements.
Thus when Mark Koding in his speech in Parliament on Oct 11, 1978 advocated that Chinese and Tamil schools should be closed and to prohibit the use of Chinese and Tamil words in road signs and if necessary to achieve this to amend Article 152 of the Federal Constitution, he was prosecuted and convicted for breaching the Sedition Act.
It will therefore be appreciated that our Sedition law has been worded and modified with particular regard to the circumstances and conditions prevailing in the country with a view to ensuring inter racial and inter religious harmony.
Sedition Act (Malaysia)
The Sedition Act in Malaysia is a law prohibiting discourse deemed as seditious. The act was originally enacted by the the colonial authorities of British Malaya in 1948. 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 latter provision 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).
Under section 3(1), those acts defined as having a seditious tendency are acts with a tendency:
Abdullah Says Malaysian Polls Can Wait, Targets Graft
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he probably won't hold an election before 2008, giving himself more time to battle corruption and muster support.
``Next year is too early,'' Abdullah, 67, said in an interview at his home in Putrajaya, south of Kuala Lumpur. ``I have to prove that a lot of things can be done and have been done and we have succeeded.''
Abdullah, who must seek a fresh mandate by early 2009, said it's ``not easy'' to stamp out graft, which he called ``cancerous.'' Too few criminals end up in court even as the government investigates a ``very high'' number of cases, he said.
Abdullah may lose support at the next election, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said in October. Analysts say fuel price increases have eaten into incomes, pushing many into corruption. Before a poll, the premier may also have to mend relations in his ethnic coalition, where pro-Malay speeches by some leaders have stoked tensions with Chinese counterparts.
``How can he go to elections?'' said Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization at the University of Malaysia. ``Basic economic issues could be decisive for urban voters who are really suffering. That has made a lot of people more corrupt.''
Abdullah said he's bolstered his team of investigators and warned officials of the dangers of taking bribes. Malaysia fell to 44th in the 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index from 39th last year, Transparency International said Nov. 6.
Not Happening
``We are doing as much as we can,'' Abdullah said in the Dec. 8 interview. ``If the perception goes on the basis of how many people we drag to court and gain a conviction, of course it doesn't seem to be happening.''
Abdullah came to power in October 2003 and led the Barisan Nasional coalition to a landslide election victory in March 2004. He expects his five-year 200 billion-ringgit ($56 billion) plan to improve education and health care, and build roads, ports and houses to fuel faster economic growth.
To deliver growth, Abdullah said he needs a sound racial and political platform.
Former Premier Mahathir, who picked Abdullah as his successor, in October accused him of achieving nothing since taking over, and last month's meeting of the ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, strained ties within Barisan Nasional.
`Uneasiness'
UMNO, as the 60-year-old party is known, has more than 3 million members and is the biggest political group in the coalition.
Hishammuddin Hussein, head of UMNO's youth wing, said in his assembly speech the position of the ethnic Malay majority shouldn't be challenged and brandished a keris, a traditional Malay dagger. The Malaysian Chinese Association, part of Barisan Nasional, said the act created ``uneasiness'' among other races.
``I'm equally concerned'' about race relations, Abdullah said in the interview. ``I know the consequences of race problems and racial tensions, on the economy, on the social development, even on our future.''
Clashes between Malays, who make up about 60 percent of the nation's population of about 27 million, and ethnic Chinese in 1969 left hundreds dead on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Two years later, the government introduced the New Economic Policy to give ethnic Malays privileged access to housing, education, jobs and company shares.
`Positive Sentiment'
Malaysia risks a return to racial unrest if the affirmative action policies are scrapped, Mahathir said in an Oct. 9 interview. Mahathir ruled Malaysia from 1981 to 2003.
Critics of the program say it drags on productivity and impedes competition. Under Abdullah, economic growth in Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy accelerated to 7.2 percent in 2004, then slowed to 5.2 percent in 2005.
Still, Abdullah's policies are good enough for many investors. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index has jumped 21 percent this year, outpacing 14 out of 18 major global benchmark indexes worldwide tracked by Bloomberg.
``We have more in Malaysia than we've had for quite a few years,'' said Anders Damgaard, who helps oversee $500 million of assets, including $35 million in Malaysian securities, at Sydinvest Asset Management in Aabenraa, Denmark. ``There seems to be a positive sentiment towards Malaysia.''
The government has said expansion this year may beat its 5.8 percent forecast. Abdullah said growth in 2007 will be ``not too far away'' from the 6 percent target.
Malaysia aims to be a developed nation by 2020. Asked if he'll run for a second term, Abdullah said, ``We'll see. Why not?''
Anwar Ibrahim
Abdullah must dissolve Parliament by May 17, 2009, in preparation for an election, or it will happen automatically on that date, according to the election commission. After Parliament is dissolved, an election must be held within 60 days.
An election after 2007 sets up a possible return for former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was arrested in 1998 and imprisoned for almost six years on corruption and sodomy charges.
Malaysia's Federal Court quashed the sodomy conviction in 2004 though upheld the corruption charge. Anwar is eligible for public office in 2008 and said in an interview last month that he plans to run for parliament at the next election.
Living costs have increased in Malaysia after the government raised fuel prices in February, the fifth time since May 2004, and state-controlled Tenaga Nasional Bhd. was allowed to raise power prices in June by 12 percent, its first rate increase in nine years.
Still, the prime minister ruled out cutting interest rates to encourage growth.
``No, no, no,'' he said. ``We are not planning on that at the moment.'' He said he won't cut gasoline prices either because crude oil costs haven't fallen far enough.
Malaysia's central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5 percent since April. Crude oil, at $61.50 a barrel, has fallen 22 percent from the record $78.40 on July 14.
(Source : Bloomberg)
Mahathir Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Malaysia Soros Seditious speeches
SPEECHES made by some speakers at the recently concluded Umno General Assembly have come under scrutiny for their content that has been viewed by many as capable of causing discord and disrupting racial harmony.
People do think in different ways. Some say that this is mere rhetoric at the assembly to play to the gallery and should not be taken seriously. Others, of course, view such statements with grave concern and take the view that some such statements border on, if not, constitute sedition.
Our Prime Minister is on record prior to the assembly as asking the delegates “to be fair, just and careful and not to hurt the feelings of component party members when raising issues”.
However after the assembly, in response to public unhappiness with speakers who touched on racial and religious issues, he reminded everyone that race and religious issues are still very sensitive matters.
Whether any of the statements were seditious would no doubt depend on what was actually said and the effect of those words. But many readers are curious to know whether if what was said was seditious, is it permitted just because it was said at such an assembly?
A statement becomes seditious if it has a seditious tendency. And the Sedition Act 1948 says that it is such a tendency if it promotes feelings of ill will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Malaysia. It is also seditious to touch on the sensitive issues namely citizenship, the national language and the languages of other communities, the special position and privileges of the Malays as well as the natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interest of the other communities in Malaysia and the sovereignty of the rulers.
Whilst many parts of the Sedition Act 1948 are inherited from the British legislation, the provisions above referred to are unique to Malaysia and are intended to curb and prohibit public discussion of sensitive issues after the events of May 13, 1969.
At the time this was done, the late Tun Abdul Razak, our then Prime Minister, referred to this event as marking “the darkest period in our national history” and went on to say that the purpose of the legislation was to remove “certain sensitive issues from the realm of public discussion so as to ensure the smooth and continuing function of Parliamentary democracy in this country”.
Therefore, it is relevant to remember the often restated reminder by the Courts that the light of freedom of speech recedes where the darkness of sedition begins. The line is drawn as was said by Raja Azlan Shah J (as he then was) in the following words: “The right to free speech ceases at the point where it comes within the mischief of the Sedition Act”.
It is not open for a person making seditious statements to say that such words are only for the consumption of the assembly and that there was no intention to promote feelings of ill will and hostility because Section 3(3) of the Sedition Act 1948 states: “For the purpose of proving the commission of any offence against this Act the intention of the person charged at the time he .... uttered any seditious words ...., .... shall be deemed to be irrelevant if in fact the act had, or would, if done, have had, or the words, publication, or thing had a seditious tendency.”
It is in the light of this when sitting in judgment in a prosecution instituted under the Sedition Act that Raja Azlan Shah J said more than 30 years ago that: “It is impossible to spell out any requirement of intention to incite violence, tumult or public disorder in order to constitute sedition under the Sedition Act.”
Almost 35 years ago when the Utusan Melayu in its issue of April 6, 1971 published an article based on a speech given by member of Parliament Musa Hitam (now Tun) at the National Education Congress, a successful prosecution followed against the sub-editor of the newspaper for creating a sub-heading which read “Abolish Tamil or Chinese medium school in the Country”.
Most statements made in Parliament at least enjoy immunity from prosecution or civil suit. This allows statements to be made in Parliament which would not be permissible elsewhere. No doubt there are Parliamentary rules and regulations to regulate inappropriate language and conduct within the House. But even in Parliament there is no immunity against seditious words or statements.
Thus when Mark Koding in his speech in Parliament on Oct 11, 1978 advocated that Chinese and Tamil schools should be closed and to prohibit the use of Chinese and Tamil words in road signs and if necessary to achieve this to amend Article 152 of the Federal Constitution, he was prosecuted and convicted for breaching the Sedition Act.
It will therefore be appreciated that our Sedition law has been worded and modified with particular regard to the circumstances and conditions prevailing in the country with a view to ensuring inter racial and inter religious harmony.
Sedition Act (Malaysia)
The Sedition Act in Malaysia is a law prohibiting discourse deemed as seditious. The act was originally enacted by the the colonial authorities of British Malaya in 1948. 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 latter provision 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).
Under section 3(1), those acts defined as having a seditious tendency are acts with a tendency:
(a) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any Ruler or against any Government;
(b) to excite the subjects of the Ruler or the inhabitants of any territory governed by any government to attempt to procure in the territory of the Ruler or governed by the Government, the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any matter as by law established;
(c) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Malaysia or in any State;
(d) to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the subjects of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or of the Ruler of any State or amongst the inhabitants of Malaysia or of any State;
(e) to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Malaysia; or
(f) 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.
**********
Abdullah Says Malaysian Polls Can Wait, Targets Graft
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he probably won't hold an election before 2008, giving himself more time to battle corruption and muster support.
``Next year is too early,'' Abdullah, 67, said in an interview at his home in Putrajaya, south of Kuala Lumpur. ``I have to prove that a lot of things can be done and have been done and we have succeeded.''
Abdullah, who must seek a fresh mandate by early 2009, said it's ``not easy'' to stamp out graft, which he called ``cancerous.'' Too few criminals end up in court even as the government investigates a ``very high'' number of cases, he said.
Abdullah may lose support at the next election, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said in October. Analysts say fuel price increases have eaten into incomes, pushing many into corruption. Before a poll, the premier may also have to mend relations in his ethnic coalition, where pro-Malay speeches by some leaders have stoked tensions with Chinese counterparts.
``How can he go to elections?'' said Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization at the University of Malaysia. ``Basic economic issues could be decisive for urban voters who are really suffering. That has made a lot of people more corrupt.''
Abdullah said he's bolstered his team of investigators and warned officials of the dangers of taking bribes. Malaysia fell to 44th in the 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index from 39th last year, Transparency International said Nov. 6.
Not Happening
``We are doing as much as we can,'' Abdullah said in the Dec. 8 interview. ``If the perception goes on the basis of how many people we drag to court and gain a conviction, of course it doesn't seem to be happening.''
Abdullah came to power in October 2003 and led the Barisan Nasional coalition to a landslide election victory in March 2004. He expects his five-year 200 billion-ringgit ($56 billion) plan to improve education and health care, and build roads, ports and houses to fuel faster economic growth.
To deliver growth, Abdullah said he needs a sound racial and political platform.
Former Premier Mahathir, who picked Abdullah as his successor, in October accused him of achieving nothing since taking over, and last month's meeting of the ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, strained ties within Barisan Nasional.
`Uneasiness'
UMNO, as the 60-year-old party is known, has more than 3 million members and is the biggest political group in the coalition.
Hishammuddin Hussein, head of UMNO's youth wing, said in his assembly speech the position of the ethnic Malay majority shouldn't be challenged and brandished a keris, a traditional Malay dagger. The Malaysian Chinese Association, part of Barisan Nasional, said the act created ``uneasiness'' among other races.
``I'm equally concerned'' about race relations, Abdullah said in the interview. ``I know the consequences of race problems and racial tensions, on the economy, on the social development, even on our future.''
Clashes between Malays, who make up about 60 percent of the nation's population of about 27 million, and ethnic Chinese in 1969 left hundreds dead on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Two years later, the government introduced the New Economic Policy to give ethnic Malays privileged access to housing, education, jobs and company shares.
`Positive Sentiment'
Malaysia risks a return to racial unrest if the affirmative action policies are scrapped, Mahathir said in an Oct. 9 interview. Mahathir ruled Malaysia from 1981 to 2003.
Critics of the program say it drags on productivity and impedes competition. Under Abdullah, economic growth in Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy accelerated to 7.2 percent in 2004, then slowed to 5.2 percent in 2005.
Still, Abdullah's policies are good enough for many investors. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index has jumped 21 percent this year, outpacing 14 out of 18 major global benchmark indexes worldwide tracked by Bloomberg.
``We have more in Malaysia than we've had for quite a few years,'' said Anders Damgaard, who helps oversee $500 million of assets, including $35 million in Malaysian securities, at Sydinvest Asset Management in Aabenraa, Denmark. ``There seems to be a positive sentiment towards Malaysia.''
The government has said expansion this year may beat its 5.8 percent forecast. Abdullah said growth in 2007 will be ``not too far away'' from the 6 percent target.
Malaysia aims to be a developed nation by 2020. Asked if he'll run for a second term, Abdullah said, ``We'll see. Why not?''
Anwar Ibrahim
Abdullah must dissolve Parliament by May 17, 2009, in preparation for an election, or it will happen automatically on that date, according to the election commission. After Parliament is dissolved, an election must be held within 60 days.
An election after 2007 sets up a possible return for former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was arrested in 1998 and imprisoned for almost six years on corruption and sodomy charges.
Malaysia's Federal Court quashed the sodomy conviction in 2004 though upheld the corruption charge. Anwar is eligible for public office in 2008 and said in an interview last month that he plans to run for parliament at the next election.
Living costs have increased in Malaysia after the government raised fuel prices in February, the fifth time since May 2004, and state-controlled Tenaga Nasional Bhd. was allowed to raise power prices in June by 12 percent, its first rate increase in nine years.
Still, the prime minister ruled out cutting interest rates to encourage growth.
``No, no, no,'' he said. ``We are not planning on that at the moment.'' He said he won't cut gasoline prices either because crude oil costs haven't fallen far enough.
Malaysia's central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5 percent since April. Crude oil, at $61.50 a barrel, has fallen 22 percent from the record $78.40 on July 14.
(Source : Bloomberg)
Mahathir Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Malaysia Soros Seditious speeches
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