PARLIAMENT | Only 65 charges have been brought under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) from 876 cases investigated in the five-year period between January 2018 and Nov 15 this year.
Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching told the Dewan Rakyat that investigations under the act, which critics had dubbed as 'Akta Sakit Hati', can be carried out by either the police or internet regulators the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
"Both police and MCMC have investigation powers under Section 233.
"If a case is being investigated by the police, MCMC will not investigate. But if it was not investigated by the police, then MCMC still has its own investigation powers," Teo (above) said during Question Time in Parliament.
"For your information, from January 2018 to November this year, a total of 65 cases was brought to court (charged) under Section 233," she said in response to Hassan Karim (Pakatan Harapan-Pasir Gudang).
Section 233 of the CMA criminalises the “improper use” of network facilities with the intent of annoying, abusing or threatening another person.
In March, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said only 19.1 percent of complaints under Section 233 received by MCMC dealt with offensive content, while over half were related to obscene materials and the remaining 20 percent involved fake news.
The law allows for a fine of up to RM50,000, a jail term of up to one year, or both.
Some high-profile cases involving Section 233 include graphic artist Fahmi Reza, who was charged in June 2016 for posting a clown caricature of then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Malaysiakini former editor-in-chief Steven Gan and former CEO Premesh Chandran were also charged under the same section in 2018 for allegedly uploading an offensive video of former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali. - Mkini
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