KUALA LUMPUR – There is no legal basis to the claim by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin that recording or live-streaming police conducting a raid or an arrest is an offence, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said.
The legal rights group said there is no provision that criminalises recording police officers whether by camera or video or livestream in the course of their duty.
“Indeed, we know there is no such offence anywhere else in the democratic world,” said LFL director Zaid Malek in a statement today.
Instead, recording public servants while they conduct enforcement should be viewed positively as it helps prevent wrongful acts or abuse of power.
“To know that they are being watched is salutary for the integrity and performance of the public services, particularly the police force,” said Zaid.
LFL was responding to Hamzah’s parliamentary written reply to Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng yesterday claiming that action could be taken under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public officer from carrying out their duties or disrupting investigations.
Hamzah also said sharing such incidents was a violation of Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act on disturbing others.
“Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act does not encompass the act of recording the actions of police officers or sharing it online,” Zaid added.
Zaid questioned whether the Home Ministry had sought the advice of the Attorney-General’s Chambers on whether there is any basis in law to criminalise recording of public servants in the course of their duty.
He added that the government has already approved the use of body cameras for police, which emphasised the absurdity of Hamzah’s claims.
“Hamzah is either ignorant of the law or deliberately preventing scrutiny of any abuse of power or unlawful act by members of the police force,” he said.
Zaid said the prime minister and cabinet should direct the home minister to publicly retract such threats against the Malaysian public. – The Vibes, August 2, 2022
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