DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang told The Malaysian Insider today that the Najib administration’s latest attempt to quell online dissent was a clear violation of the Barisan Nasional government’s pledge not to enforce censorship on the Internet.
The promise, he noted, was made under the 10-point Bill of Guarantees (BoGs) of the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor launched in 1996.
“They should be aware of this violation and if they proceed with this, they will frighten away investors.
“If the guarantee is not honoured, investors will view Malaysia as losing its credibility,” he said when contacted.
It was reported yesterday that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 will be amended soon to expand its scope and include online media content.
National news agency Bernama quoted Home Minister secretary-general Datuk Seri Mahmood Adam as saying that the ministry was looking to redefine the word “publication” in the law to include Internet content, blogs and social network services such as Facebook.
The proposed amendments, he added, would be tabled in Parliament by March this year.
But Lim said that instead of “widening the net” of the “already controversial” PPPA, the government needed to amend the law to loosen restrictions on the organisations that it currently controls.
“They should remove the draconian bits of the law like removing the requirement for media organisations to apply for annual licences to proceed with their publications,” he said.
He added that the country presently had sufficient laws to regulate media content that were deemed overly sensitive or offensive.
“If materials are defamatory in nature, there are adequate laws to bring the writers or publishers to book.
“But here, we are trying to control online content... we are just moving backwards,” he said.
PKR deputy president Azmin Ali agreed with his Pakatan Rakyat colleague, adding that the move to regulate online media content would “dampen” the country’s economy.
“We talk about globalisation, about freedom of information, which we are doing in Selangor, and we talk about allowing easy access to information. This is what democracy is about.
“But yet we move backwards. How do we expect our economy to grow? How do we expect to attract investors to park their businesses here when everything is being controlled? We are frightening them away,” he said.
He warned the government against proceeding with its plan, predicting that discerning Malaysians would likely find other means to seek information.
“There is no way you can curb the people’s movement. In this day and age, people want to know more, they want to seek the truth and they want to judge for themselves whom they want to believe and trust.
“So why not just allow them this access and give them their democratic right to decide for themselves what is truth and untruth?” he said.
Azmin pointed out that the government already controlled information disseminated through print and broadcast media, and should not attempt to curtail the freedom enjoyed by the internet media.
PAS MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad took a different stand on the matter, saying the point of contention was not on the proposed regulation but on enforcement.
He told The Malaysian Insider that imposing any regulation would not place Malaysia on the path of nation-building as the government often used the laws as tools of “oppression” instead of legislation.
“I would personally say that no amount of legislation is going to put the country back on the path of true nation-building.
“The method with which the strong arm of the laws is executed by the government shows that the administration is far from understanding the demands of a vibrant democracy,” he said.
Malaysia, he added, did not need a “piecemeal type of reform”, particularly if newly-introduced laws were meant to serve political interests.
In imposing such regulations on online media, said Dzulkefly, the government needed to stick to the spirit of the law, which is to ensure national security and public order.
“I am not going to outright object. Let’s just say that I am putting myself in the shoes of the government. It is difficult because how would you exercise control here when you want to encourage good journalism but at the same time there is a need for discipline.
“The problem here is that when there is regulation of any sort, it will be totally open to abuse... this is my fear,” he said.
Dzulkefly predicted that the changes to the PPPA would eventually be used as a tool to blackmail the online media and control content to suit the political interests of the government.
“They will be preying on bona fide dissent. So it is not about crafting the legislation because it can be done by those who understand the reason for putting it in place.
“I have my anxiety and fears on this based on valid reasons as to how laws have been abused in the past,” he said. - Malaysian Insider
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