KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — The spectre of violence seemingly along ethnic lines during last week’s riots outside Low Yat Plaza has resurrected debate over whether Malaysia needs specific laws to punish crimes driven by racial and religious hatred.
While the Penal Code already covers assault, causing grievous hurt, and rioting, none of its sections either make the distinction or carry heavier penalties for crimes motivated by ethnicity or faith.
For cases such as that of Patrick Lim who claimed a mob assaulted him and two friends last week after he admitted to being a Chinese, lawyers said one possible option was a proposed law under the now-shelved National Harmony Bills.
According to civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan, the Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill could provide pointers on how to approach incidents such as the riots outside Low Yat Plaza.
“I do not necessarily think we need to enact more laws at this time, but it would be useful to relook at the Bill in light of what happened,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted earlier this week.
Despite his suggestion, Syahredzan stressed that additional laws would only serve as a stop-gap to treat the symptoms of ethnic or religious violence.
More important was to address the root causes of such unrest, which the lawyer said was not something that could be legislated out of existence.
Lawyer Eric Paulsen agreed that the National Harmony Bill should be revived to deal with hate crimes, but said the government must first abolish the Sedition Act instead of introducing an additional and overlapping law.
Paulsen also added that such laws, if enacted, should not extend to hate speech that does not incite violence, as doing so would circumvent the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
“Hate crime should just be for physical violence. Verbal harassment, insults can be an offence but probably a bit too wide to be considered as a hate crime,” the civil rights lawyer said.
Not all felt that revisiting the so-called national harmony laws were necessary despite the apparent gap in legislation.
Like Syahredzan, lawyer New Sin Yew said it was not possible to legislate harmony and unnecessary to “reinvent the wheel” to deal with racially — or religiously — driven incidents.
“What we could do instead is to amend the Penal Code to include aggravated punishments for racially motivated crime such as in other jurisdictions,” the human rights lawyer said, saying these should include increased maximum jail terms and minimum sentences.
Mujahid Yusof Rawa, chairman of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) law and policy committee, said Malaysians should press the government to introduce the national harmony laws in light of recent incidents.
The PAS MP further said the Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill would also better regulate hate speech while preserving freedom of expression, unlike the Sedition Act where intent is unnecessary to secure a conviction.
“So I would say it is high time to revisit the proposal that we gave - the National Harmony Bill,” he said.
Under the NUCC’s Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill, the punishment for the incitement of racial and religious hatred is a maximum fine of RM5,000, a maximum 7-year jail term or both.
Those who physically harm others on the basis of race or religion will face a maximum RM10,000 fine, a maximum 10-year jail term or both.
The trio of proposed laws under the ambit of the National Harmony Bill were drafted as possible replacements for the Sedition Act that Putrajaya previously pledged to repeal, but which it later decided to retain and reinforce.
Last weekend’s riots occurred after a 22-year-old man was reportedly handed to the police for allegedly stealing a mobile phone, after which his accomplice contacted their friends who then assaulted workers from a mobile phone store and caused an estimated RM70,000 in damage.
The incident that left five people hurt caused some observers to draw parallels with the deadly race riots of May 13, 1969.
