Is it Legal to Carry a Parang?

Is it Legal to Carry a Parang?
A recent item in the news caught my attention: someone was convicted of being in possession of a knife and was fined a princely sum of money, enough to pay for a new front suspension, an XTR rear derailleur and with some left over for a good banana leaf curry. For the jungle bashers among us, news like this is a little unsettling, as a good part of every weekend is spent brandishing a parang or other assorted tools to excise stubborn vegetation. Extreme gardeners like Pigpen would be in an even more precarious position, as their vocation would demand that sharp tools be kept close at hand 24/7, just in case they need to slip in a bit of trail work before tea.

Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958
My curiosity piqued, I trotted over to the library to borrow the Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958. (As its name suggests, the Act also covers corrosive chemicals such as sulphuric acid and explosive materials, but since it’s not likely that any of us will be using gelignite for a spot of trail-clearing any time soon, we can safely ignore those provisions.) Here is what the Act says, in plain terms:
Scheduled Weapons
There are two categories of weapons defined in the Act: firstly, stuff that are clearly intended to be weapons, such as knuckledusters, flick knives, crossbows etc. These are referred to as “scheduled weapons”, and a list of them appears in the Second Schedule to the Act (reproduced below). Under Section 7(1) of the Act, a person cannot carry or have in his possession a scheduled weapon without a lawful purpose. The maximum punishment on conviction is a 2-year jail term or a RM2,000 fine, or both.
Offensive Weapons (whipping — ouch!)
Secondly, there are instruments that are not weapons per se, but which are likely to cause hurt if used as weapons. These are referred to in the Act as “offensive weapons”, and would include parangs — an agricultural tool, no doubt, but no less equal to the task of inflicting bodily harm. Under Section 6(1), a person cannot in any public road or place have an offensive weapon in his possession or under his control without a lawful purpose.
So, you can own a parang, but not carry it in a public road or a public place without a lawful purpose. Not only that, but you must also prove that you have a lawful purpose. (The general position in law is that the prosecution must prove all elements of an offence. However, this Act places the burden of proving that you have a lawful purpose on you.) The punishment on conviction is a jail term of up to 2 years, and whipping.
This raises some interesting scenarios: if you’re on your way to some epic trail and the police stops you and finds a parang in your car, you could probably say that you have a lawful purpose (leaving aside the fact that you are probably on your way to trespass into a forest reserve). That you were kitted out in outdoor garb and have dirty or soon-to-be-dirty bikes in your car helps you to establish that lawful purpose.
If, on the other hand, it’s Monday morning and you’re on your way to work and you forgot to take the parang out from the car when you unloaded the bike the previous evening, you might find yourself in a spot of bother when the nice korporal asks you, “Parang ni untuk apa?”
Further problems arise if your agricultural implement of choice is not the common parang, but a gurkha kukri or even a samurai sword (yes, you are a little strange). The list of scheduled weapons includes “any sword or parang which is normally meant to be used as a weapon and not an agricultural implement or household or garden tool.” In such a case, you’re not supposed to have it in your possession even in the confines of your own home, much less in a public place. (The kukri is an interesting case, as historically it was the principal weapon of the army of the King of Gorkha, who repelled the British in his conquest of the Kathmandu valley in the 18th century. To this day, it is a standard issue for gurkhas in service. At the same time, the kukri is also a general purpose tool for villagers in Nepal, in much the same way the parang is here and the machete in South America. You should hope that the nice korporal is not aware of the provenance of your jungle knife.)
Lawful Purpose
At this point, you will, if you haven’t fallen asleep yet, wonder what exactly amounts to a lawful purpose. Well, there are a couple of cases from the mid-60s which suggest that the courts will give a broad meaning to the phrase. In one case, a man, who was arrested walking along the main road in Ketereh, Kelantan at 9.15pm with a keris tucked into his sarong, was acquitted after he told the court that he had lent the keris to a friend who was getting married. The keris formed part of the bridegroom’s regalia at the “bersanding” ceremony. The keris had been returned to him that night and he was taking it home when he was stopped by the police. The judge found that this was sufficient to constitute a lawful purpose.
In the other case, a man was stopped and searched by the police in the town of Kuala Selangor at 8pm, and a dagger was found among in his belongings. He too was acquitted, on the grounds that he had the dagger in his possession for a lawful purpose as he was at that time in the process of moving his possessions to Kuala Selangor, having taken up residence there.
From the examples above, it would appear that you should not have too much trouble establishing a lawful purpose for your parang. However, it must be remembered that much depends on the nice korporal and his attentive colleagues to exercise good judgement in enforcing the provisions of the Act. He would be well within his rights to arrest you and leave it for you to argue before the courts that you had a lawful purpose to be in possession of your knife. By which time, of course, you would have had ample time to become intimately acquainted with the insides of a police lock-up.
Conclusion

In case you are ever stopped, you should remain polite and explain calmly the reason why you have the knife in your possession.
Remember to take your parang out of the car if you’re not on your way to or from a jungle jaunt.
Never ever leave knives or other tools that can be construed as an offensive weapon in your car all week long.
Comments?
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List of Scheduled Weapons under the Act

Any knife, sometimes known as a "flick knife", which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife.
Any knife, sometimes known as a "gravity knife", which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force and which, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever or other device.
Any whip manufactured from bicycle or motor cycle chains, or from any similar kind of chainwork.
All kinds of knuckleduster.
Any blade or other instrument attached to or forming part of a bicycle pump, metal-pipe or stick, and concealed therein, which is capable of being used for cutting or stabbing.
Any knife-like instrument with three sharp edges and a sharp pointed tip, sometimes known as a "bearing-scraper".
Any small axe normally used as a weapon and commonly known as "Kapak kecil".
Any sword, kris, parang or other knife which on any part of it is written, embossed, inscribed with or which otherwise bears any verse, word or character connected with or relating to any religion or belief.
Any sword or parang which is normally meant to be used as a weapon and not as an agricultural implement or household or garden tool.
Any spear or spearhead.
Any cross bow.
Any Patrolite, Stun Gun, Taser, Control Club or any such similar instrument, device or equipment operated by battery or electricity or any form of power.

Text © Joe "Casper" Adnan. To contact KLMBH, e-mail us.
This page created on 22 March 2005.

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