Amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act should not be used as a weapon to silence government criticism, caution Opposition lawmakers.
Speaking at a press conference at the Parliament media centre on Monday (Dec 9), they acknowledged the amendments' potential to combat cyberbullying, online scams, and other digital threats, but voiced concerns that the revised law could be exploited as a political weapon to suppress dissent.
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Speaking at a press conference at the Parliament media centre on Monday (Dec 9), they acknowledged the amendments' potential to combat cyberbullying, online scams, and other digital threats, but voiced concerns that the revised law could be exploited as a political weapon to suppress dissent.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/3s6rkxct
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00Today, in the People's Council, there will be two amendments to be passed.
00:07One is to amend the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act,
00:11and the other is to amend the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act.
00:16So, these two amendments will be discussed in depth at the National Assembly
00:22regarding the effects of the proposed amendments.
00:26For us, we have a lot of concerns regarding this matter.
00:29We hold on to the principle that there are regulations that need to be strengthened by the government,
00:36but the regulations should not be so rigid and restrictive
00:41and restrict the freedom of speech of the Malaysian people as a whole.
00:45So, we have a lot of concerns, which we will discuss in detail in a moment.
00:49But we know that the government will use their majority.
00:54We know that the government is not shy to practice the tyranny of the majority.
01:00We know that the government will use their majority to pass the amendments to the People's Council.
01:09But we, as members of the National Assembly,
01:12we will continue to speak up for the people,
01:15to voice our opinions,
01:17and ensure that the debate goes well, God willing.
01:21We will bring people's concerns about the restrictions on the freedom of speech
01:26and the freedom of media in our country.
01:28We will ensure that the government listens to our opinions.
01:32Even though we know that the government will use their majority to pass the amendments to the People's Council,
01:37we will ensure that the opposition from us to certain segments will be heard.
01:44In general, the RUU that will be held by the government in the parliament today
01:49will contain incidents of cyberbullying,
01:54scams, and child pornography.
01:59We agree with this.
02:01We do not object to this.
02:02We have even voiced this before, so that the relevant laws are enforced.
02:07But what we are concerned about is
02:10that these laws give full power to the minister to act
02:16on any communication,
02:20messages,
02:22that are interpreted as excessive,
02:25that can hurt any party.
02:27These are the laws that will be passed today.
02:31So we are concerned
02:33that the government today,
02:35especially the minister, will use these laws
02:38from a political point of view.
02:39He will restrict the freedom of speech
02:41to those who are not related to the government.
02:45Because in the laws that will be passed today,
02:50because the government has a majority,
02:52the minister and the government have full power
02:57to investigate,
02:59collect data,
03:00store data,
03:01any type of communication.
03:04Anyone who receives a negative comment,
03:08that is excessive,
03:09that hurts,
03:10that causes hatred,
03:12these things will be seen as restricting the freedom of speech.
03:18We agree
03:19that the comments given should not spread hatred,
03:23should not give negative communication.
03:25We agree.
03:26It does not mean that the opponents want to spread hatred.
03:29But who is going to define that hatred?
03:32What is the use of that negative communication?
03:36These laws are restricting,
03:38but it can be misused
03:42if someone wants to misuse power.
03:45That is our concern.
03:46We agree that these laws should be tightened,
03:49but not too tight
03:50that it hurts people's voice.
03:52So after this,
03:53anyone who wants to comment
03:55on Facebook,
03:56on TikTok,
03:57they cannot comment on these laws.
03:58They can take action,
03:59they can investigate,
04:00and they can direct any officers who are given power
04:04to go and arrest that person
04:06even though the warrant is a faulty warrant.
04:08Actually, there is a warrant
04:09that must be requested from the authorities.
04:12But in this law,
04:14the warrant can be used even though it is a faulty warrant.
04:17It is called a specific law.
04:19The power to go and investigate
04:21is no longer given to the inspector,
04:23but given to anyone who is given power by the minister.
04:27These are things that in our opinion
04:29can lead to misuse of power.
04:33Then it is also mentioned in section 46A,
04:36formalities.
04:38It means that the minister can give lessons
04:41to anyone
04:43that the minister wants
04:45without formalities.
04:47If he wants to give a media lesson,
04:49or a communication practitioner lesson,
04:51he can give it.
04:52So we are concerned
04:53that this weapon can be used by the government
04:55to compete with the election.
04:57He will suppress the opposition.
04:59He will suppress those who are against him.
05:01He will give space to those who agree with him.
05:04If this happens,
05:05in our opinion,
05:06it is not fair.
05:07This is a heavy burden.
05:08This is a barrier
05:09to the freedom of speech.
05:11We also received a lot of complaints
05:13from the media practitioners
05:15who are present today.
05:17NGOs related to the media out there
05:19who asked us to reject
05:21part of this law.
05:23We agree with part of it,
05:24but most of it
05:25can't be used by the ministry.
05:28So we mentioned this as one...
05:31Even though it hasn't been discussed yet,
05:33we mentioned it in the media
05:35so that all parties,
05:36including the government,
05:37can think in a balanced way.
05:39Put aside the importance of politics,
05:42the importance of certain groups.
05:44But is this what we want?
05:46A government that suppresses the freedom of speech,
05:49that suppresses people to give opinions.
05:52Can't this government
05:53accept an open view?
05:55The existing constitution can be adopted.
05:58Many leaders,
05:59even the PM,
06:00have been brought to court
06:01for various reasons
06:02because it is said
06:03that it doesn't comply with the law.
06:05So,
06:07what does the government want
06:09from this constitution?
06:10Does the government want to continue
06:11to suppress people
06:12who are guilty of the government?
06:14Those are the questions
06:15that arise
06:16due to the lack of
06:18details or evidence
06:19in the law
06:20that will be put forward this afternoon.
06:22So, that's our view.
06:24We will summarize it
06:26in our discussion this afternoon.
06:28We ask the members of parliament,
06:31especially the government,
06:32to think many times
06:34before supporting it blindly.
06:36It's not that the law is not needed,
06:38but the law should be fair,
06:40clear,
06:41and transparent
06:42to ensure justice for all.
06:45May peace be upon you.