Combating Hatred Discourse Via Malaysian Sedition Act: A Sharing Prosperity

Maintenance and preservation of peace and prosperity are one of the contemporary challenges confronted by the world community. Among the most apparent threat to the maintenance of peace and prosperity is the rising of hatred discourse and hate speech. It commonly takes place when involving matters of categorising people according to religion, ethnic, gender and colour of skin. Legal rules are regarded as one of methods addressing the issue. This paper discusses a Malaysian legislation namely Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15) as of how it tackles the hatred discourse. It highlights and elaborates some laws prescribed in the Act particularly on the meaning of seditious tendency,
punishments and arrest without warrant. The paper explains the legal effect of the law to the Malaysian community in combating the hate speech with reference made to some relevant cases. It expounds some controversial issues regarding the Act. The methodology used is by analysing certain laws prescribed in the Sedition Act 1948. The paper concludes with suggestion that even though the Sedition Act 1948 seems harsh and strict, but it can be an effective and effectual way in realising the sharing prosperity among the nations.
Keywords: Malaysian Sedition Act 1948, seditious tendency, hatred discourse, peace and prosperity