THE Centre for Independent Journalism urges Putrajaya to impose a moratorium on a section of the Penal Code for the offence of causing or attempting to cause racial and religious disharmony, as the section was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1987.

Its executive director Sonia Randhawa said the centre was “perplexed and concerned” at the continued use of Section 298A(1) of the Penal Code to charge two individuals for their online postings in relation to Islam and Prophet Muhammad.

Section 298A(1) makes it an offence for individuals to cause, or attempt to cause, disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will on grounds of religion among people of different religions in the country.

Earlier this week, the section was used by the prosecution against two individuals for posting insulting messages against Prophet Muhammad and Islam.

Sonia said Section 298A of the Penal Code should no longer be in use for several reasons – chief among them is that it was declared unconstitutional in 1987 by the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court declared this law unconstitutional on the grounds that Section 298A, in substance, seeks to regulate Islamic matters which are set out under the State List and not the Federal List in our constitution.

“It has been declared void in all states, save for the Federal Territories,” she said in a statement today.

And even with the Federal Territories, she said, it was only applicable to Muslims as it has been deemed a law on the subject of religion.

The Supreme Court judges had also remarked on the draconian nature of the law, she added.

She said the judgment had noted that the wording of subsection (1) is so wide that it encompasses almost every act which can be construed as causing or likely to cause disharmony or disunity, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony or unity on grounds of religion.

“In view of the unconstitutionality of Section 298A and the inherent problems with the law, we call for the government to impose a moratorium on the use of the law, with a view to repealing it in the future,” she said.

Sonia added that any law that seeks to restrict the freedom of speech and expression must only be enforced for a legitimate reason, such as for the protection of national security, public order or public morality.

She also called for the government to consult widely before enacting laws that deal with racial and religious hatred to ensure it is drafted narrowly.

On Tuesday, factory worker A Taneson, 22, was charged in Shah Alam magistrate’s court with insulting Prophet Muhammad on Facebook last week.

He was charged with posting the allegedly insulting comments on a Facebook page going by the name Sarkar Tanesan, at around 11.40am on February 19.

The following day, pensioner Wai Foo Sin, 68, claimed trial to two charges at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for posting an offensive caricature of the Prophet Muhammad and his wife, Aishah, on his Facebook page.

Wai was charged under the Penal Code for causing disharmony, disunity or feelings of hatred or ill will, or prejudicing the maintenance of harmony and unity.

The second charge comes under the Communications and Multimedia Act for making an offensive post. – February 28, 2019.