PARLIAMENT | Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut) has pointed out a contradiction between Pakatan Harapan’s promises and its actions.
Referring to the recent government clampdown on TikTok videos following the 15th general election (GE15), Hamzah claimed Harapan is going against its repeated promise of defending the freedom of speech.
“All throughout the GE15 campaign, even in Harapan’s (election) manifesto, there is a chapter on ensuring media freedom and the right to free speech.
“However, today is a different story. Apart from the madness of summoning anyone who critiques a certain individual, the government is also restricting freedom of speech and the creativity of youths on social media,” said Hamzah, who is the Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general.
Communications and Digital minister Fahmi Fadzil (Harapan-Lembah Pantai) previously said over 1,100 videos were blocked from the platform between the GE15 election campaign on Nov 13 to the time Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took his oath of office on Nov 26.
“The evidence shows that even TikTok is aware of the amount of disinformation, the amount of fake news, the amount of hate speech and extremist views espoused via TikTok saw an uptake,” Fahmi said at a press conference last Friday.
Youth group echo PN’s view
PN’s view regarding freedom of speech was also echoed by a youth group deemed friendly to the coalition.
Earlier this morning, a group dubbed Kami Anak Muda Independent (Kami) arrived at Parliament to hand over a memorandum to Fahmi.
Similar to Hamzah, Kami president Syafiq Aziz claimed that removing the videos infringed on the freedom of speech of youths.
Syafiq stressed the group was against provocative content on social media that was fake, misleading, and extremist. However, he claimed other videos that did not touch on such issues were also banned.
“We have brought victims today (who had their videos banned on social media) and who were only making content such as using (political) party anthems. That’s why we don’t understand. What is the minister trying to do?
“Are they afraid that this wave (of content) will affect the government’s direction?” he questioned.
While Syafiq claimed Kami was not linked to any political organisation, checks by Malaysiakini found that Syafiq, representing Kami, previously spoke at a PN ceramah back in October.
Kami’s memorandum, sighted by Malaysiakini, called for Fahmi to carry out his duties as a minister and stop behaving as an opposition leader.
It also called for the freedom of speech - as long as it does not cross any boundaries and ethics.
Kami also urged the minister to not carry out “double standards” when performing his duties, adding that the banning of videos should be inclusive and also be done against Harapan politicians and supporters.
Syafiq took the example of Hew Kuan Yau, also known as ‘Superman Hew’, whose video, the former claimed, was still circulating on social media.
Hew, a former DAP member, was arrested in November over his speeches during a political ceramah that allegedly threatened public order.
Meanwhile, Syafiq suggested that other methods be taken against offensive videos, such as lodging a police report or taking the individuals involved to court. - Mkini
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