Govt mulling new law to defend royal institution
No need for new legislation, say legal experts
PUTRAJAYA: A new law will be drawn up this year to protect the sanctity of the royal institution from insults.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong, in announcing this, said the sanctity of the royal institution must be protected because the country practises a constitutional monarchy system.
He said discussions have been conducted with the AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers (A-GC) since October on the new law, apart from improving other laws.
“Perhaps we will refer to the laws practised by other Commonwealth countries, including the United Kingdom, in drawing up this new law. For now, we are still governed by the old laws, but the A-GC has identified new legislation to be enacted and amended.
“Another meeting will be held at the end of this month.
“If the relevant ministries and cabinet agree, we will enact a new legislation apart from amending current laws,” he said after a New Year message to the legal affairs division in the Prime Minister’s Department here yesterday.
Calls for the government to be strict in protecting the royal institution came to the fore following comments in social media on Sultan Muhammad V’s decision to step down as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Three people have been detained under the Sedition Act 1948 over their online remarks.
However, their arrests have drawn flak from several quarters. They include Amnesty International Malaysia, which said the enforcement of the archaic law is a major step backwards in promoting freedom of expression.
Civil group Lawyers for Liberty has also condemned the use of the Sedition Act, saying it is tantamount to “mob rule”.
It said the use of the particular law should not have occurred under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, given that it was among the legislation that the coalition had pledged to repeal if it came into power.
LEGAL experts say it is unnecessary to have new laws to deal with insults against the monarchy as there are provisions in legislation to protect the royal institution.
Lawyer Andrew Khoo said there are sufficient provisions in the Penal Code.
“As Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said, we need to be clear whether some of these comments are actually insults.
“We live in a robust environment, where all sorts of comments are made. We need to develop a bit of a thick skin when we come across strong comments.
“What tends to happen with the existence of such laws is that they are relied upon by certain segments of society to curtail and censor the comments.
“At the slightest hint of a strong comment, these groups make a police report, alleging an insult to the monarchy and insist that the police take action.”
Khoo was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong’s statement yesterday that the government would enact new legislation to protect the institution of the monarchy from being humiliated and attacked by people.
Khoo said the government and the Attorney-General’s Chambers should instead provide policy guidance on how this issue was to be dealt with, so the police did not end up wasting time, money and resources chasing down every complaint only for there to be no prosecution.
Khoo said the guidance would contribute to ending the use of such police reports as an indirect form of harassment against those who wished to exercise their freedom of expression.
Universiti Malaya law lecturer Professor Dr Azmi Sharom said he disagreed with laws that impeded the freedom of speech.
He said the proposal to enact a new law to protect the monarchy from insult, humiliation and attacks from people must not affect the freedom of expression.
He said if there was a need for a new law, the new legislation involving the institution of the monarchy should be carefully drafted.
He said even the existing Sedition Act 1948 could be re-looked as it appeared to provide room for a degree of criticism of the rulers.
“The issue here is, are the people going to be completely banned from speaking about the rulers?”
He said if that was so, then it would be similar to Thailand’s lese majeste laws.
“Our rulers are constitutional monarchs, so is the new law going to limit comments on them to only their constitutional roles?
“Or is it going to give people a bit more leeway?” Azmi, who is a constitutional expert, said.
“The role of the monarchy is perhaps more than being the heads of state.
“They perhaps should be seen as role models for the nation. “This being the case, then could criticism of behaviour be acceptable?” he said.
If a new law was needed, he said it should get the opinion and consent of the rulers first.
“Whatever law is made or drafted, it should not impede the democracy and constitutional monarchy.
“In the United Kingdom, there are no laws protecting the monarchy from criticism.
“This is unlikely to happen in Malaysia as the issue of royalty is emotive for many.”