Sedition Laws in Malaysia

The recent arrest of Wong Chin Huat, a political scientist on the allegation of Sedition bring back the usual question of Sedition Laws. Sedition is used, in many instances, by authorities to curtail or limit free speech.

Freedom of Speech is guaranteed in Malaysia, via Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, but of course, with freedom to speak, comes also responsibilities. It is imperative that the people be guided on the responsibilities when speaking, and not blanket laws against speaking.

A look at Section 4 of the Sedition Act will show that we are unsure by whose standards, one can be guilty of a sedition statement:-

Section 4 Sedition Act 1948

(1) Any person who -

(a) does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or conspires with any person to do, any act which has or which would, if done, have a seditious tendency;

(b) utters any seditious words;

(c) prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces any seditious publication; or

(d) imports any seditious publication,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable for a first offence to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both, and, for a subsequent offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; and any seditious publication found in the possession of the person or used in evidence at his trial shall be forfeited and may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court directs.

(2) Any person who without lawful excuse has in his possession any seditious publication shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable for a first offence to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding eighteen months or to both, and, for a subsequent offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and the publication shall be forfeited and may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court directs.

Marriage, Annulment & Divorce - Part Two

Part 2 - The Divorce (non Muslims)

In an earlier posting, we blogged about Laws on Marriages (for non-muslims) in Malaysia.

Today we wish to give a summary on Laws and Procedures related to Divorce between a non-muslim couple.

First, you may file a "Joint Petition Divorce", wherein both husband and wife wish to bring the marriage to an end. This can be filed after 2 years from the date the couple got married.

Secondly, if only one party wish to divorce and the other don't want to, then the party who wish to divorce would have to file in a Petition to bring the marriage to an end. The other party may challenge it. This is usually referred to as a "Contested Divorce".

For Contested Divorce, before the Petition can be filed in Court; both parties have to attend counseling by a Conciliatory Body, a body within the Malaysian Registrar of Marriage (ROM). This is to ascertain if the Marriage has irretrievably broken down. If the Conciliatory Body finds that the marriage has indeed irretrievable broken down, then a certificate will be issued accordingly. The party who wish to proceed with the Divorce may then use that certificate to support the Divorce Petition.

You may contact your local ROM to receive more information on this.

A party may wish to be exempted from referring your matter to the Conciliatory Body, on the following grounds:-

• you allege that you have been deserted by and do not know the whereabouts of your spouse;


• your spouse is residing abroad and it is unlikely that he/she will enter Malaysia within six (6) months after the date of petition


• your spouse has been required to appear before a Conciliatory Board and has willfully failed to attend;


• your spouse is imprisoned for term of five (5) years or more;


• you allege that your spouse is suffering from an incurable mental illness; or


• the Court is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances which make reference to a Conciliatory Body impracticable.

You may ask - why do we need to have this counseling before the Conciliatory Body if you want to divorce? Amongst the reason; is that the Law is built to try give both parties a chance to reconcile. Of course some Marriages can't be saved; but the Law does give the Couple a chance to get back together. There have been cases of couples who at the very end of the proceeding in Court, end up reconciling.

In Court, the Judge would look out for one of these evidences/factors to support the contention that the Marriage has irretrievably broken down:-

1. your spouse has committed adultery and you find it intolerable to live with your spouse;


2. your spouse has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live with him/her


3. your spouse has deserted you for a continuous period at least two (2) years before the date of your petition; or


4. both of you have lived apart from each other for a continuous period at least two (2) years before the date of your petition

You may also file a divorce if your spouse converts to Islam. You may do so, 3 months after the date of the conversion.

You may find some useful information from these links:-

1. http://www.lawyerment.com/library/kb/Families/Divorce/

2.http://www.malaysia.gov.my/EN/Relevant%20Topics/Society%20and%20Life/NonCitizen/nFamily/nMarriage/nDivorce/Pages/Divorce.aspx

*3.http://www.agc.gov.my/agc/Akta/Vol.%204/Act%20164.pdf

*no.3 above is a link to the Law Reform Marriage Act, which is the specific law, governing this area of Law.

If the Court grant the Petition, your lawyers would have to file a Decree Nisi which would last for about 3 months, thereafter the Decree Nisi would be deemed a Decree Absolute. If you have no idea what this 'Decree Nisi' means, it is a latin phrase which loosely means temporary order.

The 3 months period is the final 'attempt' by the Law to have both parties reconcile. As mentioned, some couples have been known to reconcile even at this late stage, after the Court has granted the Decree Nisi.

All proceedings will be at the High Court.

Marriage, Annulment & Divorce - Part One

Part 1 - The Marriage (non-Muslim)

In Malaysia, all non-Muslim marriages after 1982 must be registered. The Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976 ("Law Reform Act") took effect that year. Traditional Marriages which are not registered, is not deemed to be a Marriage under the Law Reform Act.

Under Section 9 of the Law Reform Act, all registration must be done before a Registrar. People under 21 years of age, who wish to get married, must obtain the relevant consent of their parents. Sections 14 to 16 of the Law Reform Act prescribes a method to give Notice of the impending marriage.

If there are no objections, the Registrar will issue a Certificate that the Registrar is satisfied that all is all right for a Marriage to be registered. Parties who wish to object may enter what is called a caveat under Section 19. The Registrar will hear the objections and decide accordingly on the veracity of that objection.

Sections 22 to 27 of the Law Reform Act lists the offices where one may register their marriage, including the Registrar of Marriage, Religious places (Church, temple etc) and/or Embassies etc. gae.

Under Section 31, citizens of Malaysia who are married abroad must register the marriage a convenient place (Embassies or High Commission office, perhaps) within 6 months after that out-of-Malaysia marriage. At least one party of the Marriage need to be there as Section 31(2) of the same Act allows the Registrar to dispense the appearance of one of the parties if the Registrar is satisfied there exist good and sufficient reason for the absence. It would, however be more prudent if both parties appear, notwithstanding Section 31(2) above.

Contraventions to the Law Reform may lead to imprisonment and/or fine. Section 35 makes it an offence if the above said out-of-Malaysia Marriage is not registered within the prescribed time. Parties face imprisonment of one year or fine or both.

Under Section 38, false declarations can lead to imprisonment of 3 years or fine or both.

For those who entered false Caveat merely to object and obstruct the marriage under Section 19 above, Section 39 makes it an offence carrying a penalty of 3 years or fine or both. These are just amongst some of the offences under Law Reform.

For more information on procedure of Marriages, please visit:-

http://www.gov.my/MYGOV/BI/Directory/Citizen/Family/Marriage/ProcedureMarriageNonMuslims/

We'll Blog about Divorce and Annulment of marriages next time around.