Freedom Of Speech, Assembly And Association

Article 10 of the Constitution of Malaysia guarantees Malaysian citizens the right to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association but such freedom and rights are not absolute, unlike the First Amendment in the United States Constitution.


Subject to Clauses (2), (3) and (4), under Article10 all citizens have the right to:-

• freedom of speech and expression;
• assemble peaceably and without arms; 
• form associations.

BACKGROUND

Professor Dr.
Shad Saleem Faruqi 

Experts such Professor Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi have argued that the Malaysian Federal Constitution provides a rather weak provision for freedom of speech primarily as a result of amendments following the May 1969 clashes, known as the Sensitive Matters Amendment to allow Parliament to “impose on the above right, restrictions on eight grounds – public order, national security, incitement and offence, friendly relations with other states, contempt of court, contempt of Parliament, defamation, morality”.


CONSTITUTIONAL RESTRICTIONS

Clause (2) expressly permits Parliament by law to impose restrictions on any citizen's freedom of speech, assembly and association in the interest of:-

a) the security of the Federation;
b) friendly relations with other countries;
c) public order;
d) morality;
e) to protect the privileges of Parliament; and
f) to provide against contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to any offence.

Restrictions on the right to form associations may also be imposed by any law relating to labour or education (Clause (1)(c)).

Article 10 (4) states that Parliament may pass law prohibiting the questioning of any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by the provisions of Part III, Article 152, Article 153 or Article 181 in the interest of the security of the Federation or public order under Clause (2)(a).


REGULATIONS

Several acts of law regulate the freedoms granted by Article 10, such as the Official Secrets Act, which makes it a crime to disseminate information classified as an official secret.

Under the Public Order (Preservation) Act 1958, the relevant Minister may temporarily declare any area where public order is seriously disturbed or seriously threatened to be a “proclaimed area” for a period of up to one month. The Police has extensive powers under the Act to maintain public order in proclaimed areas. These include the power to close roads, erect barriers, impose curfews, and to prohibit or regulate processions, meetings or assemblies of five persons or more.

Other laws curtailing the freedoms of Article 10 are the Police Act 1967, which criminalises the gathering of three or more people in a public place without a licence, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, which grants the Home Affairs Minister "absolute discretion" in the granting and revoking of publishing permits, and also makes it a criminal offense to possess a printing press without a licence.

The Sedition Act 1948 makes it an offence to engage in acts with a "seditious tendency", including but not limited to the spoken word and publications. The Sedition Act in particular has been widely commented upon by jurists for the bounds it places on freedom of speech. Justice Raja Azlan Shah once said: "The right to free speech ceases at the point where it comes within the mischief of the Sedition Act."