"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

2A -2A. Addition, deletion or amendment of the Schedule.

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.

2B -2B. Appointment of public officer to classify official document, etc.

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.

2C -2C. Declassification of official secret by a Minister or a public officer.

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.

3 -3. Penalties for spying.

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;

(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

4 -4. Prohibition of taking or making any document, measurement, sounding or survey of or within a prohibited place.

(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 indirectly useful to a foreign country, be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than one year but not exceeding fourteen years.

(2) (a) It shall not be an offence under subsection (1) to take or make, outside a prohibited place a photograph or drawing in which such place or part thereof is included, unless it is proved that the photograph or drawing is intended to be prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia or to be directly or indirectly useful to a foreign country.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to the taking or making of a photograph or drawing from an aircraft.

5 -5. Penalty for making or assisting in making false declarations or statements in obtaining permits.

If any person makes or assists in making a declaration or statement false in any material respect for the purpose of obtaining permission under section 4 (3) (a) from a competent authority he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit.

6 -6. Special power of the court to direct search and seizure.

(1) If any court is satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that a document contains matter or information prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia and directly or indirectly useful to a foreign power or to an enemy, the court may issue a search warrant to search for and seize such document even though an offence under this Act is not alleged to have been committed.

(2) Where a document required to be seized under a search warrant issued under subsection (1) is so seized or is voluntarily produced by the person in whose possession it is, it shall be sent by the court to the competent authority which may, if it considers that the document contains matter or information prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia and directly or indirectly useful to a foreign power or to an enemy, order the document to be forfeited, or order that any part of such document be obliterated, erased or removed.

7 -7. Prohibition from carrying photographic apparatus.

(1) If any person within any prohibited place carries or has in his possession or under his control any photographic apparatus otherwise than with lawful authority or for a lawful purpose he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with both.

(2) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) the onus of proving the existence of a lawful purpose shall be upon the accused.

(3) A photographic apparatus shall be presumed to be carried with lawful authority if it is carried in connection with the performance of his duty by a police officer or member of the armed forces employed on guard, security patrol or other similar duty.

(4) Any photographic apparatus in respect of which any offence under this Act has been or is suspected of having been committed may be seized by any police officer or by the competent authority or by any pe

7A -7A. Duty to report request for information etc.

(1) Any person who is in any manner whatsoever approached by any other person whether directly or indirectly to obtain for or supply that other person any official secret or any secret official code word, countersign or password which -

(a) relates to or is used in a prohibited place or relates to anything in such a place;

(b) relates to munitions of war and to other apparatus, equipment and machinery which are used in the maintenance of the safety and security of Malaysia;

(c) has been made or obtained in contravention of this Act;

(d) has been entrusted in confidence to him by any public officer; or

(e) he has made or obtained, or to which he has had access, owing to his position as a person who holds or has held office in the public service, or as a person who holds, or has held a contract made on behalf of the Government, or as a person who is or has

7B -7B. Placing in confidence of foreign agent.

Any person who does any act so as to place or likely to place himself in the confidence of any foreign agent shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than one year but not exceeding five years.

8 -8. Wrongful communication, etc. of official secret.

(1) If any person having in his possession or control any official secret or any secret official code word, countersign or password, which -

(a) relates to or is used in a prohibited place or relates to anything in such a place;

(b) relates to munitions of war and to other apparatus, equipment and machinery which are used in the maintenance of the safety and security of Malaysia;

(c) has been made or obtained in contravention of this Act;

(d) has been entrusted in confidence to him by any public officer; or

(e) he has made or obtained, or to which he has had access, owing to his position as a person who holds or has held office in the public service, or as a person who holds, or has held a contract made on behalf of the Government, or as a person who is or has been employed by or under a person who holds or has held such an office or contract,

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9 -9. Unauthorised use of uniforms, falsification of reports, forgery, personation and false documents.

(1) If any person gains or assists any other person to gain admission to a prohibited place otherwise than by an authorized point of entry or for the purpose of gaining admission, or of assisting any other person to gain admission, to a prohibited place, or for any other purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia -

(a) uses or wears, without lawful authority, any naval, military, air-force, police or other official uniform, or any uniform so nearly resembling the same as to be likely to deceive, or falsely represents himself to be a person who is or has been entitled to use or wear any such uniform;

(b) makes use of any disguise or false name, or knowingly conceals his identity or nationality;

(c) orally, or in writing in any declaration or application, or in any document signed by him or on his behalf, knowingly makes or connives at the making of any false statement or an

10 -10. Interfering with police officers or members of the armed forces.

If any person who is within or in the vicinity of any prohibited place, obstructs, misleads or otherwise interferes or impedes any police officer or any member of the armed forces engaged on duty in relation to the prohibited place, he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or with both.

11 -11. Duty to give information.

(1) If any person who has any information relating to an offence or suspected offence under this Act fails -

(a) to give, on demand, such information; or

(b) to attend at such reasonable time and place to give such information,

when required to do so by -

(aa) any police officer above the rank of Inspector; or

(bb) any member of the armed forces employed on guard, sentry, patrol or other similar duty; or

(cc) any public officer authorized by the Minister,

he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than one year but not exceeding seven years.

(2) Before requiring a person to attend at such place and time, the police officer or member of the armed forces shall tender to him a sum which is reasonable for his expenses.

12 -12. Power to require the production of messages.

(1) Where it appears to the Minister that such a course is expedient, he may by warrant under his hand, require any person who owns or controls any telecommunications, used for sending or receipt of messages to or from any place out of Malaysia, to produce to him or to any person named in the warrant, the originals and transcripts of any message or messages sent from or addressed to any specified persons or place, sent to or received from any place out of Malaysia by means of such telecommunication and all other papers relating to such message.

(2) If any person, on being required to produce such original or transcript or paper, refuses or neglects to do so or mutilates or destroys the same, he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than one year but not exceeding seven years.

(3) In this section the expression "message" and "telecommunication" shall have the same meaning as in the law relating to

13 -13. Harbouring.

(1) If any person who knows, or has reasonable grounds for suspecting that another person is about to commit or has committed an offence under this Act -

(a) harbours that other person; or

(b) permits those other persons to meet or assemble in any premises in his occupation or under his control,

he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than one year but not exceeding seven years.

(2) If any person -

(a) who has harboured or has permitted to meet or assemble as stated in subsection (1); and

(b) who has information in his power relating to such persons,

fails to disclose on demand such information to a police officer not below the rank of Inspector, he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or imprisonment for a term not

14 -14. Attempts, incitements, etc.

If any person -

(a) attempts to commit an offence under this Act;

(b) solicits or incites or endeavours to persuade or conspires with another person to commit an offence under this Act; or

(c) aids, or abets or does any act preparatory to the commission of an offence under this Act,

he shall be liable to the same punishments, and to be proceeded against in the same manner, as if he had committed the offence.

15 -15. Restrictions on prosecutions.

(1) Any prosecution for an offence under this Act shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Public Prosecutor.

(2) Notwithstanding that the consent of the Public Prosecutor has not been obtained, a person charged with such an offence may be arrested, or a warrant for his arrest may be issued and executed. Such person may be remanded in custody or on bail, but the case shall not be further prosecuted until the consent has been obtained.

(3) When a person is brought before a court before the Public Prosecutor has consented to the prosecution, the charge shall be explained to him but he shall not be called upon to plead, and the law for the time being in force relating to criminal procedure shall be modified accordingly.

16 -16. Burden of proof and presumptions.

In any prosecution for an offence under this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

(1) it shall not be necessary to show that the accused person was guilty of a particular act tending to show a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia;

(2) notwithstanding that no act as stated in subsection (1) is proved against him, the accused person may be convicted if, from the circumstances of the case, his conduct or his known character as proved it appears that his purpose was a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia; and

(3) if any documents, articles or information relating to or used in any prohibited place or anything in such a place, or any secret official code word, countersign or password, is made, obtained, collected, recorded, published or communicated by any person other than a person acting under lawful authority, it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved, to have been made,

16A -16A. Certificate by a public officer to be conclusive evidence.

A certificate by a Minister or a 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 by the principal officer in charge of the administrative affairs of a State certifying to an official document, information or material that it is an official secret shall be conclusive evidence that the document, information or material is an official secret and shall not be questioned in any court on any ground whatsoever.

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17 -17. Communications with foreign agents to be evidence of commission.

(1) In any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the fact that a person has been in communication with, or attempted to communicate with, a foreign agent, whether within or without Malaysia, shall be evidence that he has, for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia, obtained or attempted to obtain or to communicate information which is likely to be or might be or is calculated to be or is intended to be directly or indirectly useful to a foreign power or to an enemy.

(2) For the purpose of this section, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision -

(a) a person shall, unless he proves the contrary, be presumed to have been in communication with a foreign agent if -

(i) he has, either within or without Malaysia, visited the address of a foreign agent or consorted or associated with a foreign agent; or

(ii) either, within or without Malay

17A -17A. Defence available to a public officer.

Any person who is charged with any offence under this Act shall not be convicted if he proves that he did any such thing in the performance of his official duties or with proper authority.

18 -18. Power to arrest.

(1) If any person is found committing an offence under this Act or is reasonably suspected of having committed, or has attempted to commit, or is about to commit, such an offence, he may be arrested without a warrant.

(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), if any person in a prohibited place is found offending or suspected of offending against this Act he may be arrested with or without a warrant, by a police officer or any member of the armed forces and shall be brought forthwith before a Magistrate to be dealt with according to law.

19 -19. Powers of search and seizure.

(1) Whenever it appears to any Magistrate upon information and after such inquiry as he thinks necessary that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any place there is any evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act, he may, by warrant directed to any police officer empower such officer to enter such place, by force if necessary, and there to search for, seize and detain any such evidence.

(2) Whenever it appears to any police officer not below the rank of Inspector that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any place there is concealed or deposited any evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act, or of any prescribed offence, and such police officer has reasonable grounds for believing that by reason of the delay in obtaining a search warrant the object of the search is likely to be frustrated, he may exercise in and in respect of such place all the powers mentioned in subsection (1) in as full and ample a

20 -20. Special powers of investigation.

(1) Notwithstanding anything in any other law contained, the Public Prosecutor, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence under this Act has been, or is about to be, committed by any person, may by order authorize any police officer not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent named in such order to make an investigation in the matter in such manner or mode as may be specified in such order. Such order may authorize the investigation of any bank account or any other account or any article or any document which may be with any person or at any place and shall be sufficient authority for the disclosure or production by any person of all or any information or accounts or articles or documents as may be required by the officer so authorized.

(2) Any person who fails or refuses to disclose such information or to produce such accounts or articles or documents to the person so authorized shall be guilty of an offe

21 -21. Admission of statements in evidence.

(1) Where any person is charged with any offence against this Act any statement, whether such statement amounts to a confession or not or is oral or in writing, made at any time, whether before or after such person is charged and whether in the course of a police investigation or not and whether or not wholly or partly in answer to questions, by such person to or in the hearing of any police officer of or above the rank of Inspector and whether or not interpreted to him by any other police officer or any other person concerned, or not, in the arrest, shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any written law, be admissible at his trial in evidence and, if such person tenders himself as a witness, any such statement may be used in cross-examination and for the purpose of impeaching his credit.

(2) No such statement shall be admissible or used -

(a) if the making of the statement appears to the court

22 -22. Evidence of accomplice.

Notwithstanding any rule of law or written law to the contrary, no witness shall, in any trial or inquiry by a court in respect of an offence under this Act, be presumed to be unworthy of credit by reason only of being an accomplice in relation to such offence.

23 -23. Examination of offenders.

(1) Whenever two or more persons are charged with any offence under this Act the court may require one or more of them to give evidence as a witness or witnesses for the prosecution.

(2) Any person referred to in subsection (1) who refuses to be sworn or to answer any lawful question shall be dealt with in the same manner as witnesses so refusing may by law be dealt with by a court.

(3) Every person required to give evidence under subsection (1) , who in the opinion of the court makes true and full discovery of all things as to which he is lawfully examined, shall be entitled to receive a certificate of indemnity from the court, under the seal of the court, stating that he has made a true and full discovery of all things as to which he was examined, and such certificate shall be a bar to all legal proceedings against him in respect of all such things.

24 -24. Protection of informers.

(1) Except as hereinafter provided, no complaint as to an offence under this Act shall be admitted in evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings whatsoever, and no witness shall be obliged or permitted to disclose the name or address of any informer, or state any matter which might lead to his discovery.

(2) If any documents which are in evidence or liable to inspection in any civil or criminal proceedings whatsoever contain any entry in which any informer is named or described or which might lead to his discovery, the court before which the proceeding is had shall cause all such passages to be concealed from view or to be obliterated so far as is necessary to protect the informer from discovery, but no further.

(3) If in any proceeding relating to any offence under this Act or any prescribed offence the court, after full inquiry into the case, is of opinion that the informer wilfully made in his complaint a material statement which

25 -25. Liability for offences outside Malaysia.

(1) The provisions of this Act shall, in relation to citizens, permanent residents of Malaysia and to persons (whether citizens or not) who hold or have at any time held office in a public service, have effect outside as well as within Malaysia; and when an offence under this Act is committed in any place outside Malaysia by any citizen, permanent resident or by any person (whether a citizen or not) who holds or had at any time held office in a public service, he may be dealt with in respect of such offence as if it had been committed at any place within Malaysia at which he may be found.

(2) Any proceeding against any person under this section which would be a bar to subsequent proceedings against such person for the same offence if such offence had been committed in Malaysia shall be a bar to further proceedings against him under any written law relating to extradition or the surrender of fugitive criminals in force in Malaysia.

26 -26. Trial of offences.

For the purposes of the trial of a person for an offence under this Act, the offence shall be deemed to have been committed either at the place in which the same actually was committed, or any place in Malaysia in which the offender may be found.

27 -27. Exclusion of public during proceedings.

In addition and without prejudice to any powers which a court may possess to order the exclusion of the public from any proceedings, if, in the course of proceedings before a court against any person for an offence under this Act or in the course of the proceedings on appeal, or in the course of the trial of a person for an offence under this Act, application is made by the prosecution, on the ground that the publication of any evidence to be given or of any statement to be made in the course of the proceedings would be prejudicial to the safety of Malaysia, that all or any portion of the public shall be excluded during any part of the hearing, the court may make an order to that effect, but the passing of sentence shall in any case take place in public.

28 -28. Criminal liability of corporation or firm.

Where the person guilty of an offence under this Act is a company or corporation or a member or servant of a partnership or firm, every director and officer of the company or corporation or every member of the partnership or firm (as the case may be) shall be guilty of the like offence unless he proves that the act or omission constituting the offence took place without his knowledge, consent or connivance and that he exercised such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions and to all other circumstances.

29 -29. Minister may confer police powers on suitable persons.

The Minister may confer upon any person whom he deems fit and suitable, the powers of a police officer not below the rank of Inspector for the purposes of this Act.

30 -30. Powers under Criminal Procedure Code not restricted.

Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to limit or restrict any powers conferred by the Criminal Procedure Code (F.M.S. Cap. 6).

30A -30A. Regulations.

The Minister may make regulations to carry out the purposes of this Act and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing words, may -

(a) prescribe the manner of classifying information, documents and other materials;

(b) prescribe the procedure for handling, storage and delivery of official documents and other information;

(c) prescribe the manner of disposing waste official documents;

(d) prescribe the manner of communication of official information;

(e) prescribe all other matters necessary to protect the safety or secrecy of any information or thing;

(f) provide for offences and penalties not exceeding a fine of five thousand ringgit or imprisonment not exceeding one year for the contravention of any provision of the regulations; and

(g) provide for the compounding of any of such offences.

31 -31. Repeal.

(1) The Official Secrets Ordinance 1950 (F.M.S. 15/50) of the States of Malaya and the Official Secrets Ordinance of Sabah (Cap. 90) are hereby repealed.

(2) The Official Secrets Act 1911 (1 and 2 Geo. 5. C. 28) and the Official Secrets Act 1920 (10 and 11 Geo. 5. C. 75.) , both of the United Kingdom, in so far as they have effect in Sarawak or any other part of Malaysia, with or without modification, are hereby repealed.