Changes to Communications and Multimedia Act on the horizon?

KUALA LUMPUR – The government is looking towards amending the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, including assessing a possible review of several sections within the legislation, said Fahmi Fadzil.

However, the communications and digital minister said it is too early to say which sections would be affected, and could not provide any more details at the moment.

“We are looking into several sections under the act. However, it is too early to say what we plan to do at this time, as it is still under review,” he said in a brief response to reporters after attending the Saya Digital campaign at the Pantai Eco Park Community centre here today.

This comes after his fellow government backbencher, Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan, criticised several existing laws in the country that allow those in power to clamp down on critics who issue statements that do not politically align with them.

Chiefly, Syahredzan had pointed to Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, which he said needs an urgent review. 

He noted how its broad definition makes it particularly prone to abuses.

Syahredzan’s comment 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 act, although the move was later reversed.

Quah had said that after initially being tipped to be charged under the provision for a Facebook post, in which she expressed her concerns on the mass arrest of refugees and migrants during the Covid-19 lockdowns, she was informed by the investigating officer that 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 18, 2023