Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) chastised Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil over actions taken by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to clamp down on websites on the grounds of slander or inaccurate statements.
Its executive director Zaid Malek said it was unlawful and dangerous for the government to restrict freedom of speech on such grounds.
"This smacks of the Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’. It also appears to be a transparent attempt to justify or lay the groundwork for blocking portals or websites critical of the government.
“In the latest incident, TV Pertiwi has been subjected to a government block, which has not been denied by Fahmi.
"It is disturbing and unconstitutional for the minister to set himself up as the arbiter of ‘truth’ and arrogate powers to himself to restrict supposed slanderous or inaccurate news.
“Slanderous or inaccurate according to whom? Is it only the government’s right to decide what is true?" asked Zaid in a statement.
The “Ministry of Truth” is found in Orwell's dystopian novel titled “1984”. It is an arm of the State, whose actual purpose is to rewrite history and change facts to fit the narrative of the ruling party's propaganda.
Zaid drew Fahmi's attention to the fact that the Anti-Fake News Act was repealed by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018, as it was seen as a threat to freedom of speech.
"Fake news must be countered by explanation, not criminalised. The right to freedom of speech is enshrined under Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution and it cannot be restricted on grounds of inaccuracy.
"The restrictions to freedom of speech allowed under Article 10(2)(a) do not encompass inaccurate statements. It is speech that is prejudicial to public order or security that can be restricted, and that is a high bar to fulfil.
"If the government gets to decide what is inaccurate or slanderous, it will lead to abuse of power and jailing of political opponents. Our past history has proven this is so, time and time again," said Zaid.
‘No misinformation on 3R’
Two days ago when asked to comment on MCMC’s restrictions against several news portals, such as MalaysiaNow, UtusanTV and TV Pertiwi, Fahmi emphasised that freedom of the press guaranteed in Malaysia does not equate to freedom to slander and spread misinformation.
"We guarantee that there is no action taken against any official media registered with the Information Department so far.
"In general, we cannot allow any information that is inaccurate, slanderous in nature or matters touching on 3R (race, religion and royalty) to be manipulated by any party," he said.
In his response, Zaid said that as far as slander is concerned, criminal defamation proceedings under Section 500 of the Penal Code were used by the old BN government to bring politically motivated charges against Harapan leaders.
"Now in power, has Fahmi forgotten this? In a democracy, the right thing for anyone who has been slandered to do is to file a civil suit for defamation.
“The government and its ministers hold no special status for there to be state action to counter any slander made against them. All persons are equal in this country under Article 8 of the Constitution,” he mentioned.
Zaid added that any government that wants to restrict speech and the press to protect its own definition of truth is a frightened government, afraid of criticism and losing power.
"Such powers, if allowed, could essentially restrict any and all discourse on matters of public interest as the government can twist the definition of slander and inaccuracy to suit its own purposes," he said.
Zaid then reminded Fahmi that the attempt to silence criticism of the 1MDB corruption scandal was a clear example of how such powers can be easily abused by the government, where news portals were blocked and individuals were charged for speaking up.
"We urge the government to stop using MCMC and other agencies under its power to restrict the media or criminalise individuals for alleged slander or inaccuracies.
“They are free to file a civil suit in their personal capacity should they feel aggrieved by any statement made against them or make a public statement to correct any inaccuracy.
"The duty of the government is not to restrict free speech, but to uphold the right with due respect to the Constitution," he said. - Mkini
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