Puzzled by defamation action against editor

 

It’s difficult for me as a journalist to comprehend the decision by government prosecutors to press criminal defamation charges against a former chief editor and a contributing editor of The Edge for two articles published by it.

Even former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been accused in the past of stifling press freedom, is “very disturbed” by this.

Last month, The Edge’s former chief editor Azam Aris was charged on Sept 13 with allegedly defaming Kua Khai Shyuan and DGB Asia Bhd in an article published in The Edge on Sept 21, 2020.

Azam faces another charge of defaming Kua, DGB Asia, Trive Property Group Bhd, Metronic Global Bhd and MNC Wireless Bhd in another article published on April 12 last year.

Contributing editor M Shanmugam, who was jointly charged with Azam over the April 12 article, was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the magistrates’ court as he was abroad last month and therefore could not be present in court. He will probably be charged again later.

The April 12 article had the heading, “Hidden Hands Behind Penny Stocks Surge Under Scrutiny” while the Sept 21 article had this heading: “Hidden Hands Behind Penny Stock Surge”.

They were charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum two-year jail sentence or a fine or both.

Although I was bemused by Mahathir’s defence of Azam, I have to agree with his call to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to drop the criminal defamation charges.

FMT quoted Mahathir as saying the AGC should allow the portal and the alleged defamed parties to settle their dispute through civil action. Mahathir, who said he was “very disturbed” by the charges against Azam, added that in the past such cases were settled via civil action.

“The readiness of the public prosecutor’s office to initiate criminal charges against the editor when the publication had alleged that a crime had been committed is quite baffling,” Mahathir, during whose first stint as prime minister several Malaysian newspapers were temporarily closed and distribution of certain international news magazines suspended, said.

But I suppose Mahathir is justified in making the call because his government never pressed criminal charges against any journalist.

“By any logic, the investigation should be directed at the people alleged to have committed the crime,” Mahathir, who now heads Pejuang, said in a blog post.

This is exactly what Ho Kay Tat, the publisher and group CEO of The Edge Media Group apparently feels.

In explaining his bafflement over the action, Ho wrote on Sept 13: “The volatile trading of penny stocks which took place in 2020 and early 2021 has abated, following our last article in April 2021 and after warnings by market regulators. Many people have lost money as the prices of these stocks have collapsed. However, the losses would have been much more had the manipulation continued in a big way.

“As a media that reports on the stock market and corporate sector extensively, we have a responsibility to highlight important matters to the investing public — including alerting them about how stock prices are being manipulated.

“We are, therefore, baffled as to why the police and the DPP’s Office of Kuala Lumpur are pressing criminal defamation charges against us for informing investors about stock market manipulation.”

He went on to say: “If the complainant, who is a private businessman, feels that we have defamed him, the police and DPP should ask him to file a civil suit against us instead of using public resources.”

When the AGC commences any action, it uses taxpayer money. In the case of criminal defamation, taxpayer money is being used. If the aggrieved parties institute civil action, taxpayer money is not touched. Citizens, of course, expect the government to be careful with how it uses their money.

The case has resulted in a call for the criminal defamation law to be repealed and to let such cases be ventilated in the civil court.

It has to be noted that just a week earlier, on Sept 7, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the media was free to report any news so long as they were based on accurate and authentic facts.

The Edge says its reports were based on extensive research and that it had used data and information obtained from Bursa Malaysia and company annual reports.

So, of course, media practitioners are puzzled by this action of government prosecutors. Some are wondering if criminal defamation is being used to create anxiety and suppress the enthusiasm of journalists to do investigative reports; especially since any aggrieved individual or group is free to sue.

The government should remember that journalists are fulfilling a need in society for news and we try to do an honest job. Sometimes in the rush to get the news to readers our facts may be wrong, and once in a while some newspaper or news portal may demonstrate an element of bias, but there is no malicious intent.

A democratic government must carefully weigh various issues before acting because it also has a duty to help in the growth of a free press and a culture of transparency. There can be no democracy without press freedom and a government which stifles media freedom and freedom of expression loses its right to describe itself as “democratic”.

It’s not easy for the media to do its job, especially since we have to navigate through a number of laws that serve to proscribe our ability to disseminate information, educate the public and generate discourses that will benefit the nation’s growth.

And the government should not make it any harder. - FMT

Azam Aris was charged on Sept 13 with allegedly defaming Kua Khai Shyuan and DGB Asia Bhd in an article published in The Edge on Sept 21, 2020.

 

 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.