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THE Malaysian Bar is proposing three Bills to replace the Sedition Act and promote national harmony, unity, reconciliation, integration, equality and non-discrimination.
Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill
Objective: To promote and preserve national harmony by punishing racial and religious hatred and protecting the right to freedom of speech and expression. Under the Bill, it is a criminal offence to incite racial or religious hatred.
Whoever intentionally engages in conduct that is likely to threaten, incite, or incite others to threaten, physical harm towards another person or class of persons or property of that other person or class of persons based on race or religion would be guilty of a criminal offence.
The Bill only deals specifically with conduct which has an element of physical harm towards another person. It does not criminalise offensive, insulting or insensitive conduct. The Bill also punishes those who inflict physical harm on another person on the basis of racial and religious hatred.
National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill
Objective: To prevent unfair discrimination of persons based on religion, race, descent, place of birth, gender, or disability, which could lead to racial and religious tension in society.
The Bill seeks to capture the rights entrenched in Article 8(1) and (2) of the Federal Constitution, that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. It imposes an obligation on the government and all persons to promote equality.
National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill
Objective: To form the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission to promote national harmony, unity, reconciliation, integration, equality and non-discrimination and to provide for related matters. It is also responsible for managing and resolving conflicts and disputes of discrimination.
The commission is also responsible for promoting awareness of and providing education in relation to national unity, integration and equality. It is also responsible for advising, assisting and making recommendations to the government for the purpose of national unity, integration, nondiscrimination and equality.
Under the Bill, the commission is empowered to constitute an Unfair Discrimination Tribunal to inquire into and resolve complaints of unfair discrimination.
Source: Malaysian Bar
