The Centre for Independent Journalism Malaysia (CIJ) has condemned the recent use of Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) against radio personality Patrick Teoh.
“CIJ calls on the Perikatan Nasional government to stop using Section 233 of the CMA to censor and silence dissenting and non-conforming voices, following the charging of radio DJ Patrick Teoh in Johor yesterday.
“Freedom of expression is clearly enshrined under international human rights law [...] Limits on the freedom of expression in law must be clear and narrowly defined, and serve a well-defined public interest function.
“These limits and the related measures adopted to address alleged online infringement must meet the harm test to determine legitimacy, necessity and proportionality.” CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu said in a statement.
Section 233 of the CMA pertains to the improper use of network facilities or network service.
The CIJ further repeated its call for Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah to spearhead a review and adopt a moratorium on the arbitrary use of Section 233 of the CMA without further delay.
Teoh (above), a veteran radio announcer and actor, was yesterday charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Act with allegedly insulting Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and the royal institution.
He faces a fine of up to RM50,000, jail term of up to a year, or both, upon conviction.
The law also allows for a further fine of up RM1,000 for every day an alleged offence is continued after conviction.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) founder Cynthia Gabriel is being probed while separately, Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chair R Sri Sanjeevan was charged, both under Section 233. - Mkini
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