Dewan Rakyat to debate amendments to Sedition Act 1948, today

The government will table amendments to the Sedition Act 1948 for its second and third reading in the Dewan Rakyat, today.

It will be debated by representative from the government and the opposition sides before it is approved by the Parliament.

The Bill which was listed in the first sequence of the Order Paper and Proposals, will see some amendment amendments made to it, which includes the act of criticizing the government will no longer be an offence.

In the same amendment, an individual charged under the Act will not be allowed to be released on bail.

Furthermore, the new amendment of section 5(a) of the Bill suggests that if a person is charged under Section 4 (1a) of the Sedition Act and is verified in writing by the public prosecutor, no guarantee can be given to him for the sake of public interests.

Any individual or any group who uses religion as a medium to manipulate or create hate will also be charged under the same bill.

Based on the content of the amendments, the new paragraph in subsection 3(1) Act 15 states that any party which promotes malice, enmity or hatred against a certain party on the grounds of religion is considered as an offense.

The amendment of the Act also includes a new section which is Section 5(b) - to prevent any individual charged under Sedition Act from leaving Malaysia.

The first reading to amend the Sedition Act 1948 was made on Tuesday and presented by the Minister of Home Affairs, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.