Free speech does not mean freedom to slander: Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA – Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the freedom of the press and speech 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 told reporters after launching the Astro #DemiNegaraku and Home of Kids campaign, here, today.  

He was asked to comment on the perception that the government is impeding the freedom of speech and the media following the restriction imposed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) against several news portals, such as MalaysiaNow, UtusanTV and TV Pertiwi.  

Fahmi said, concerning TV Pertiwi, he will obtain feedback from MCMC first before commenting on the matter, in case it involves any police investigation.    

Yesterday, MCMC was reported as saying that any action against TV Pertiwi was subject to investigation to ensure the integrity and safety of content published on its portal.  

It was reported that MCMC had blocked access to TV Pertiwi’s portal, two days after its Tik Tok account was banned.  

Meanwhile, Fahmi said the regulatory framework for Home of Kids developed by Astro allows parents to preset programmes for children watching TV on their own. 

“Parents should always be aware of content being aired on TV or social media, to safeguard their children from any form of negativity,” he said.   

In conjunction with National Day and Malaysia Day 2023, Astro is offering its subscribers various content through two complimentary channels, namely #DemiNegaraku and NJOI from August 20 to September 17 on Channel 100, and Ultraman on Channel 400 from August 20 to September 30. – Bernama, August 19, 2023