Section 233 of Communications, Multimedia Act open to abuse: Syahredzan

KUALA LUMPUR – Several existing laws in the country allow those in power to clamp down on critics who issue statements that do not politically align with them, Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan said while urging for amendments to these provisions. 

Chiefly, he said Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 needed an urgent review, noting how its broad definition makes it particularly prone to abuses. 

The provision concerns the improper use of network facilities or services and criminalises any person who makes or spreads comments online which are deemed obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person. 

“It is my hope that within this parliamentary term, the unity government will table an amendment to this section,” he said when debating the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat, here, today. 

“Maybe we don’t need to completely remove the offences under this section because admittedly there are certain provisions that are still needed, but perhaps the others can be reviewed and amended.” 

The DAP lawmaker said the rakyat should be allowed to express their grievances and criticisms online without fear of being punished. 

“Sometimes, they voice their dissatisfaction. But how bad is it to be cursed by the rakyat when we are in power? Sometimes, that is the only way the rakyat can voice their views.”

But while Syahredzan supports freedom of expression, he said this should not be without limit. 

“It doesn’t mean that you can slander. Allowing the rakyat to voice out doesn’t mean allowing expressions that can disturb the harmony of the country, lying, and inciting racial sentiments,” he said. 

His comment today comes in wake of a recent police decision to charge Refuge for the Refugees founder Heidy Quah over an alleged offence under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, although this was later reversed.

Quah had said that after initially being tipped to be charged under the provision for a Facebook post expressing her concerns on the mass arrest of refugees and migrants during the Covid-19 lockdowns, she was informed by the investigating officer that the police would not pursue the case. 

The activist had previously been charged under the same section on July 27, 2021 for posting content online concerning conditions faced by refugees in immigration depots.

Previously, various rights groups had similarly called on the government to amend or repeal the contentious provision altogether. – The Vibes, February 16, 2023