LAWYERS for Liberty has chided Putrajaya’s alleged bid to stifle and control freedom of speech by regulating social media.
LFL director Zaid Malek said the news is shocking and disturbing to all right-minded Malaysians.
“It is yet another clear indication of the Anwar (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) government’s bid to stifle and control freedom of speech, continuing the current trend of clamping down public discourse under the guise of stemming supposed harmful and illegal content,” he said in a statement.
Zaid was referring to news reports yesterday that the cabinet has approved plans to license and regulate social media platforms.
“It is thus not surprising that the government’s new plan to impose licensing and regulations of social media has set alarm bells ringing.
“It stinks of despotism and self-interest. It draws comparisons with North Korea, communist China and PAP (People Action Party)-ruled Singapore.”
Zaid said that it is abhorrent that the cabinet, which includes members of Pakatan Harapan, a political coalition that owes its survival and success to online news and social media platforms, is now planning severe restrictions on it.
“This is the ultimate betrayal of its reform promises and a failure to uphold constitutional rights.
“We urge the government to retract this despotic new plan to stifle online criticism, specifically any part of the planned regulations that aims to censor or limit discourse on matters of public importance, particularly the purported regulations regarding political content.
“Any such regulations existing would make a mockery of the constitution and relegate our country to dictatorial rule.”
Zaid said the government’s methods are cynical – while pretending to act for the public good, they are in fact acting in their self-interest.
“Criticism by the public of the government online and in social media has been robust and effective, as it should be in any proper democracy.
“Instead of accepting criticism and responding to it, the government is attempting to clamp down on it by oppressive regulation, in the time-honoured manner of authoritarian regimes.”
Zaid said despite decades of promising reform, the Pakatan Harapan-led government has shown itself to be an enemy of the constitutional right to freedom of speech under Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
“It has reneged on its promise to abolish draconian laws that severely limit freedom of speech, and continuously utilises those laws against the public.
“It is also well-known that the government is systematically blocking videos by government critics on social media platforms, including several online news portals. We are in possession of correspondences that prove that the blocking against government critics is organised and systematic.”
He added that the government has been deliberately instilling a climate of fear to deter members of the public and the press from airing serious criticisms of the government or its policies.
“It was only a few months ago that the government threatened the public against discussing the widely reported Forest City casino issue, even resorting to charging prominent critics like Chegubard (Badrul Hisham Shaharin) under the infamous Sedition Act for making a Facebook post based on the news reported by Bloomberg.” – June 25, 2024
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