MALAYSIA has no plans to introduce a Thai-style standalone lèse majesté law to protect the Malay rulers against criticism, said de facto Law Minister Liew Vui Keong.

The government will instead amend available laws to strengthen the legal protection accorded to the rulers against unwarranted criticism and ridicule, he said.

Lèse majesté or injured majesty laws are used in Thailand, Cambodia, and parts of Europe. In Thailand, the law punishes those who defame, insult or threaten, the royal family with imprisonment of up to 15 years.

A recent Bernama report quoted Liew as saying that while Thailand’s law would not be adopted, he did not rule out the possibility of such a law being created in the future to protect, preserve, and defend the monarchy.

Liew, however, denied this in an interview with The Malaysian Insight.

“First, I want to clarify that when I answered the question on the lèse majesté (law), I never said that it will not be ruled out.

“It will never be considered, in fact. That’s why I said we will never consider a lèse majesté law in Malaysia. Full stop.”

Putrajaya is currently looking at amending the Penal Code and adding new provisions in preparation for abolishing the Sedition Act, which the government presently uses to charge people with insulting the royal institution, he said.

“What we are looking at is to amend the Penal Code, to transfer some of the provisions in the Sedition Act to the Penal Code insofar as the rulers’ provision is concerned. Lèse majesté will never be considered in this aspect,” he said.

Liew did not give a date when the Sedition Act will be abolished.

“At this moment, the cabinet has discussed the abolition of the Sedition Act but the decision has to be made after considering all the relevant factors.”

He added that the government will also have to look at alternative laws that will be needed to replace the provisions in the Sedition Act.

“Whether you like it or not, our system is a constitutional monarchy. So it is very important that the monarchy has to be protected,” Liew said.

“But, of course, at the same time, we also have to ensure that the monarchy cannot simply take the liberty to make statements that may affect people who have the right to make whatever comments they want,” he added. – March 8, 2019.