Effects Of Freedom Of Expression In Malaysia

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Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental human rights that is utmost for any democratic system to function in an acceptable extend. In Malaysia, freedom of expression is more often than not restricted through old-fashioned laws and in some cases restricted through the threat of violence. The laws restricting the Freedom of Expression includes but is not limited to few laws such as,
1. The Sedition Act 1948
2. The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998
3. Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984
4. State-based religious law governing Islamic publications
5. Film Censorship Act 2002
The Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) remain the laws most frequently used against critical speech in Malaysia and they are used for the criminal laws to arrest, question, and prosecute individuals for peaceful speech. …show more content…

Article 10 of the Malaysian Constitution, looking into the sensitiveness of these issues, specifies a list of restrictions, which limit the right of free speech on the grounds of securing political stability and racial harmony. Furthermore, freedom of political speech and the political rights of individuals are secondary to the goals of national prosperity and national development, and the government is given to enforce some form of political discipline in order to serve the greater social good. However, the Malaysian government has taken a step further to control not only hate and racial speech, but also any political speech that seriously challenges the government. In this regard, the Malaysian government can be blamed for being less democratic based for its confinement on political

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