PENAL CODE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Attorney-General (Mr C. H. Butterfield): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, this is a short Bill which is designed to make it an offence for any person to make, print, possess, post or distribute, or have under his control, any document containing any incitement to violence or counselling disobedience to the law, or to any lawful order of a public servant, or any document likely to lead to any breach of the peace.

It is, Sir, a simple Bill which I hope requires little elaboration. I would, however, wish to add this in moving the Second Reading, and that is that the making and circulation of documents of this kind, which is not by any means uncommon at the present time, and indeed, Sir, it is an activity which finds much favour with the Malayan Communist Party - such an activity, Sir, clearly constitutes a threat to law and order. On this ground, I venture to hope that the Bill will commend itself to this Assembly.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Mr Speaker, Sir, it is a very simple Bill which requires little elaboration, as the Hon. the Attorney-General said, but I cannot understand why it should have been necessary to include it, first, in the Penal Code, and next, after section 151, which deals with unlawful assemblies:

"Whoever knowingly joins or continues in any assembly of five or more persons likely to cause a disturbance of the public peace, after such assembly has been lawfully commanded to disperse, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both."

That is just a preliminary point.

My point of substance is that it should not be necessary to tamper with the Penal Code which is part of the permanent legislation and of the normal laws of this country more than is absolutely necessary. Anything special which we all hope will become unnecessary in a few years time should not be included in the Penal Code. The Indian Penal Code is a much more comprehensive piece of legislation than our own, and even they have not included this, or any such section, in their own Penal Code.

Mr Butterfield rose -

Mr Speaker: Mr Butterfield, in reply?

Mr Butterfield: In reply, Sir. With regard to the first point which was raised by the Member for Tanjong Pagar, that is, the place of the proposed new section in the Penal Code, that was a point which occurred to me too when I first saw this Bill; so I examined the Penal Code and considered where it might more conveniently come. It seemed to me, all things taken into consideration, that it appeared to be a most suitable place. But I do not propose, Sir, to move that this Bill should go to the Committee of this House until 12th October, and I should be very glad to reconsider that and possibly move an amendment to put the clause into what may be a more suitable part of the Penal Code.

With regard to the point of substance which was made by the Member for Tanjong Pagar, the Government does not accept the view that a provision of this kind need only be temporary. The position, as I understand it, Sir, is that neither the Sedition Ordinance, which, of course, deals with seditious publications, nor the Undesirable Publications Ordinance adequately covers activities of the kind which this Bill is designed to meet.

I think, Sir, that is all I wish to say now with regard to the points made by the hon. Member.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Mr Speaker: Committee stage, what day?

Mr Butterfield: 12th October, Sir.