OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1972

LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 88 OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1972 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 IN COLLABORATION WITH PERCETAKAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA BHD 2006 2 Laws of Malaysia ACT 88 OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1972 Date of Royal Assent ... ... ... ... 26 September 1972 Date of publication in the Gazette ... ... 30 September 1972 PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint Second Reprint Third Reprint … ... ... … ... ... … ... ... … ... ... 1983 1988 1994 Fourth Reprint ... ... ... ... 1999 Official Secrets 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 88 OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1972 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation 2A. Addition, deletion or amendment of the Schedule 2B. Appointment of public officer to classify official document, etc. 2C. Declassification of official secret by a Minister or a public officer 3. Penalties for spying 4. Prohibition of taking or making any document, measurement, sounding or survey of or within a prohibited place 5. Penalty for making or assisting in making false declarations or statements in obtaining permits 6. Special power of the court to direct search and seizure 7. Prohibition from carrying photographic apparatus 7A. Duty to report request for information, etc. 7B. Placing in confidence of foreign agent 8. Wrongful communication, etc. of official secret 9. Unauthorized use of uniforms, falsification of reports, forgery, personation and false documents 10. Interfering with police officers or members of the armed forces 11. Duty to give information 12. Power to require the production of messages 13. Harbouring 14. Attempts, incitements, etc. 15. Restrictions on prosecutions 16. Burden of proof and presumptions 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 88 Section 16A. Certificate by a public officer to be conclusive evidence 17. Communications with foreign agents to be evidence of commission of certain offences 17A. Defence available to a public officer 18. Power to arrest 19. Powers of search and seizure 20. Special powers of investigation 21. Admission of statements in evidence 22. Evidence of accomplice 23. Examination of offenders 24. Protection of informers 25. Liability for offences outside Malaysia 26. Trial of offences 27. Exclusion of public during proceedings 28. Criminal liability of corporation or firm 29. Minister may confer police powers on suitable persons 30. Powers under Criminal Procedure Code not restricted 30A. Regulations 31. Repeal SCHEDULE 5 Official Secrets LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 88 OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT 1972 An Act to revise and consolidate the law relating to the protection of official secrets. [1 October 1972] BE IT ENACTED by the Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di-Pertuan Agong with the advice and consent of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Official Secrets Act 1972. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “armed forces” includes— (a) any regular or volunteer armed forces of Malaysia whether in Malaysia or outside Malaysia; (b) any regular or volunteer armed forces of any foreign country or of any territory outside Malaysia attached to or operating with any of the armed forces of Malaysia whether in Malaysia or outside Malaysia; (c) any visiting forces within the meaning of any law for the time being in force regulating visiting forces lawfully present in Malaysia; “article” includes any thing, substance or material; “competent authority” means the competent authority appointed by the Minister by order published in the Gazette in respect of any one or more prohibited places or class of prohibited places; 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 88 “document” includes, in addition to a document in writing and part of a document— (a) any map, plan, model, graph or drawing; (b) any photograph; (c) any disc, tape, sound track or other device in which sound or other data (not being visual images) are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom; and (d) any film, negative, tape or other device in which one or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (as aforesaid) of being reproduced therefrom; “foreign agent” includes any person who is or has been or is reasonably suspected of being or having been employed by a foreign country or any organisation within or without Malaysia either directly or indirectly for the purpose of committing an act, either within or without Malaysia, prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia, or who has or is reasonably suspected of having, either within or without Malaysia, committed, or attempted to commit, such an act in the interests of a foreign country; “foreign country” means any independent and sovereign state and includes any colony, dominion or protectorate of such state; “Government” means the Government of Malaysia or a State Government; “material” includes any equipment, device or object; “munitions of war” includes the whole or any part of any ship, submarine, aircraft, tank or similar engine, arms and ammunition, bomb, torpedo or mine, intended or adapted for use in war, and any other article, material, instrument or device, whether actual or proposed, intended for such use; “offence under this Act” includes any act, omission or other thing which is punishable under this Act; “office in the public service” includes any office or employment in or under any public service; Official Secrets 7 “official” relates to any public service; “official secret” means any document specified in the Schedule and any information and material relating thereto and includes any other official document, information and material as may be classified as “Top Secret”, “Secret”, “Confidential” or “Restricted”, as the case may be, by a Minister, the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister of a State or such public officer appointed under section 2B; “photographic apparatus” means any apparatus for taking or making of photographs, film, negative, tape or other device in which one or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom and includes any component part of such apparatus; “police officer” includes any person upon whom the powers of a police officer not below the rank of Inspector are conferred by the Minister under section 29; “prohibited place” means— (a) any work of defence, arsenal, naval, military or air force establishment, barrack, camp or station, factory, dockyard, aerodrome, mine, minefield, ship or aircraft belonging to or occupied by or on behalf of the Government or any telegraph, telephone, wireless or signal station or office so belonging or occupied, and any place belonging to or occupied by or on behalf of the Government and used for the purpose of building, repairing, making, proving, testing or storing any munitions of war, or any photographs, drawings, plans, models or documents relating thereto, or for the purpose of getting or storing any metals, oil, mechanical transport spirit or aviation spirit or minerals of use in time of war; (b) any place not belonging to the Government where any munitions of war, oil, mechanical transport spirit, aviation spirit, fuel or supplies or any documents relating thereto, are being made, repaired, gotten or stored under contract, with, or with any person on behalf of, the Government, or otherwise on behalf of the Government; (c) any camp, barrack or place where prisoners of war, members of the armed forces, internees or detainees are detained; 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 88 (d) any place which is for the time being declared by the Minister, by order published in the Gazette, to be a prohibited place for the purpose of this Act; “public officer” means any person holding any office or employment in or under any public service; “public service” means— (a) any of the public services referred to in Article 132 of the Constitution including any Ministry, any department of the Government, or any Court; (b) any city council, municipality, town council or local authority; (c) any statutory authority exercising powers vested in it by Federal or State law; (d) any person, tribunal, body, institution or authority whatsoever which may be declared by the Minister, by order published in the Gazette, to be a public service for the purpose of this definition; and (e) in the event of war, any department of the government of any ally of Malaysia. (2) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, expressions referring to— (a) communicating, receiving, obtaining, retaining, collecting, recording or publishing includes any communicating, receiving, obtaining, retaining, collecting, recording or publishing, whether in whole or in part and whether the article, document or information itself or the substance, effect or description thereof only be communicated, received, obtained, retained, collected, recorded or published; (b) obtaining or retaining any article or document includes the copying or causing to be copied the whole or any part of any article or document; and (c) the communication of any article or document includes the transfer or transmission, or the publishing, of the whole or any part of any article or document. Official Secrets 9 (3) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a place belonging to the Government includes a place belonging to or occupied by any department of the Government, whether the place is or is not actually vested in the Government. Addition, deletion or amendment of the Schedule 2A. The Minister may, from time to time, by order published in the Gazette, add to, delete from, or amend any of the provisions of the Schedule hereto. Appointment of public officer to classify official document, etc. 2B. A Minister, the Menteri Besar or the Chief Minister of a State may appoint any public officer by a certificate under his hand to classify any official document, information or material as “Top Secret”, “Secret”, “Confidential” or “Restricted”, as the case may be. Declassification of official secret by a Minister or a public officer 2C. A Minister or public officer charged with any responsibility in respect of any Ministry, department or any public service or the Menteri Besar or the Chief Minister of a State or the principal officer in charge of the administrative affairs of a State may, at any time, declassify any document specified in the Schedule or any official document, information or material as may have been classified and upon such declassification, the said document, information or material shall cease to be official secret. Penalties for spying 3. If any person for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interest of Malaysia— (a) approaches, inspects, passes over or is in the neighbourhood of, or enters any prohibited place; (b) makes any document which is calculated to be or might be or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to a foreign country; 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 88 (c) obtains, collects, records, publishes or communicates to any other person any secret official code word, countersign, password or any article, document or information which is calculated to be or might be or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to a foreign country, he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for life. Prohibition of taking or making any document, measurement, sounding or survey of or within a prohibited place 4. (1) If any person takes or makes any document, measurement, sounding or survey of or within a prohibited place, he shall, unless he proves that the thing so taken or made is not prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia and is not intended to be directly or indirectl