KINIGUIDE | A refresher on the controversial Sedition Act

KINIGUIDE | The controversial Sedition Act is once again under public scrutiny after recent uses of the law have provoked alarm from civil societies and politicians.

In this KiniGuide, Malaysiakini runs through the act’s history and issues with it since its introduction in 1948.

What is the Sedition Act 1948?

The Sedition Act is a colonial-era law that criminalises speech with “seditious tendency”.

Among the definitions of seditious tendency in the act include a tendency to bring into hatred or contempt against any ruler, government, or the administration of justice, to promote feelings of ill will and hostility between different races or classes, and to question any privileges reserved for...