The Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations in the UPR Process or MACSA notes that the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Religious Affairs in the new Pakatan Harapan government, Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa has proposed the tabling of three Bills, namely the Anti-Discrimination Bill, the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill and the Racial and Religious Hatred Act for the Parliamentary Session this October or February next year.[1] The new government has yet to publish a draft of these three proposed Bills. All we know from news reports are that these laws, in particular the proposed Racial and Religious Hatred Bill aim to curb racial and religious hatred. In short, the proposed Bills seek to criminalise hate speech. The proposed penalties a...
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