Charged Under Section 4(1) (C) of the Sedition Act

Raja Petra Kamaruddin was charged in Court today for offence under the Sedition Act 1948. The relevant section being reproduced below.

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Sedition means incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority

Under the Sedition Act 1948,

Seditious tendency means
3. (1) A “seditious tendency” is a tendency—

(a) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection
against any Ruler or against any Government;
(b) to excite the subjects of any Ruler or the inhabitants of
any territory governed by any Government to attempt
to procure in the territory of the Ruler or governed by
the Government, the alteration, otherwise than by lawful
means, of any matter as by law established;
(c) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection
against the administration of justice in Malaysia or in
any State;
(d) to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the subjects of
the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or of the Ruler of any
State or amongst the inhabitants of Malaysia or of any
State;
(e) to promote feelings of ill will and hostility between
different races or classes of the population of Malaysia;
or
(f) to question any matter, right, status, position, privilege,
sovereignty or prerogative established or protected by
the provisions of Part III of the Federal Constitution or
Article 152, 153 or 181 of the Federal Constitution.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) an act, speech,
words, publication or other thing shall not be deemed to be
seditious by reason only that it has a tendency—

(a) to show that any Ruler has been misled or mistaken in
any of his measures;
(b) to point out errors or defects in any Government or
constitution as by law established (except in respect of
any matter, right, status, position, privilege, sovereignty
or prerogative referred to in paragraph (1)(f) otherwise
than in relation to the implementation of any provision
relating thereto) or in legislation or in the administration
of justice with a view to the remedying of the errors or
defects;
(c) except in respect of any matter, right, status, position,
privilege, sovereignty or prerogative referred to in
paragraph (1)(f)—
(i) to persuade the subjects of any Ruler or the
inhabitants of any territory governed by any
Government to attempt to procure by lawful
means the alteration of any matter in the
territory of such Government as by law
established; or
(ii) to point out, with a view to their removal, any
matters producing or having a tendency to
produce feelings of ill will and enmity between
different races or classes of the population of
the Federation,
if the act, speech, words, publication or other thing has not
otherwise in fact a seditious tendency.

(3) For the purpose of proving the commission of any offence
against this Act the intention of the person charged at the time he
did or attempted to do or made any preparation to do or conspired
with any person to do any act or uttered any seditious words or
printed, published, sold, offered for sale, distributed, reproduced
or imported any publication or did any other thing shall be
deemed to be irrelevant if in fact the act had, or would, if done,
have had, or the words, publication or thing had a seditious
tendency.

Offences

4. (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.