Unity government pursuing reprehensible crack down on free speech
Malaysia going back to the Mahathir era in suppression of free speech in the 1990s
Over the last seven months, the unity government led by prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has slowly been setting up new architecture to suppress freedom of speech. Some of this has been by stealth and some through formal means.
The communications minister Fahmi Fadzil “let the cat out of the bag”, when he lost his temper during a regular Tik Tok dialogue he hosts, threatening viewers with police action for posting comments critical of him and the current government.
Two hours into the session the minister divulged that authorities are monitoring social media users. Fahmi went on to say "Don't get upset with me if there is a call or a radio car outside of your house. We are monitoring, behave yourself."
Fahmi has used intimidation a number of times against media portals. Back in March, Fahmi threatened to meet with Berita Harian management over criticisms of the pending rise in the overnight policy rate (OPR) at the time.
This has become a common practice of government ministers, through their staff. Editors of news portals are receiving more and more calls asking that particular articles critical of their ministers be taken down. This has forced editors of Malaysian news portals to become very concerning of what news they post, in fear of displeasing authorities.
One editor at a major news portal said that ‘we are now back in the Najib times, when we were intimidated over 1MDB stories we published. If we don’t comply with their requests, there would be consequences.”
New Malaysian Media Council
The Proposed Malaysian Media Council, will be a regulatory mechanism for the media industry, specifically intended to control online news portal. This will prescribe a code of self-censorship within the industry. The MMC will have the power to investigate complaints against media portals. This draft bill will add another layer of regulation over those freelance journalists who are investigative on issues concerning politics and corruption.
The government has also been muzzling the independent media by stealth, through government owned GLCs. When journalists investigate corruption, abuse of power, and landgrabs, it’s the GLCs that serve letters of demand, and summons for civil defamation. These are mostly used as deterrents against further investigation and publishing of new information, as most freelance journalists doing investigative work cannot afford the legal fees involved in defending a civil defamation case.
Defamation actions from GLCs allows politicians to stay at arms-length. These stealth tactics are preventing corruption issues from being exposed across Malaysia.
Stealth censorship: Now common to see these summons issued against activists and news portals with GLCs doing the censorship work for the government.
There are also criminal deformation laws the attorney general can utilize to silence any journalists who get close to the truth. The biggest deterrent is the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, where a journalist can be detained for up to 28 days, while the police undertake investigations. While detained, those in custody are held in spartan conditions that would break the spirit of most.
SOSMA can be used to intimidate journalists.
During the 2018 general election Pakatan Harapan promised SOSMA would be reviewed and even abolished. However, the home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said there will be no review of the SOSMA laws, just two weeks into his job.
Weaponizing the 3Rs?
The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) will now start censoring what it considers ‘deviant’ Islam through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), according to the minister of communications and digital Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil. State religious councils are also able to censor Islamic material through the MCMC.
Fahmi said at the Eco Park launch that “We will not only block the spread but also take action against those involved. So that’s why we always provide reminders to avoid spreading slanderous material that involve the three Rs (race, religion and royalty), including deviant teachings.”
This is the most far-reaching censorship mechanism that has ever been set up by the government, since the advent of the internet in the early 1990s. The former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed pledged when the Malaysian Multimedia Corridor was launched, there would be no censorship of the internet.
Now the government has given itself the power not only to take down material it defines as inappropriate and ‘deviant’, by its own determination of definition, where JAKIM will make undefined decisions upon what is deviant Islamic teaching.
The home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is using the police to investigate opposition politicians who have been deemed to breach this policy. Police are now investigating PAS Ulama wing deputy chief Zainul Asri Mohd Romli. This investigation is based upon a police report lodged by Saifuddin’s own party members. PKR are claiming Zainrul Asri’s remarks are a form of sedition. Zainul actually apologized for those offended by his remarks, after his speech.
Saifuddin using police to intimidate journalists?
Are internet service providers illegally blocking new portals?
The news portal Malaysia Now has been blocked through Maxis, Celcom, and Digi. This appears to be another censorship tactic now used by the MCMC.
Many believed that when Anwar Ibrahim became prime minister freedom of speech and press freedoms would be liberalized. Many of the older generation remember when the ‘Free Anwar Movement’ and later ‘Reformasi Movement’ had limited press circulation via the DAP’s The Rocket and PAS’s Harakah. They were both highly restricted and sort after at the time. The internet of the early 2000s had sites like ‘Free Anwar’, which gave birth to political blogging in Malaysia. Articles had to be printed off and secretly distributed to people in Mosques and coffee shops.
Many believed Anwar would have at least been “Bapa Free speech” (The father of free speech) during his era as prime minister.
Malaysia is now a society where Royal Commissions will be set up for books, law ministry Azalina Othman says offends, and a troll army will be sent after anyone who criticizes PMX.
Speaking and writing on issues of public concern is still flaunt with risks in Malaysia. Malaysia is still only 113 in the Reporters Without Borders World 2022 Press Freedom Index. The hesitancy of the Anwar government to lift charges against a blogger indicates the environment of freedom of speech is no different than before.
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Conveniently it was acceptable and worthy of ignoring when it applied to DS Najib's right to freely chose a legal representative of his choice. It was deemed a delay tactic by a repressive and ill informed judge. Free speech is not free speech only when it applies to satisfy and serve our individual convenience.
If the truth be known there is no such thing as "free speech". All speech is limited by laws (sedition, treason and defamation), civil behaviour and the constitution.
" I am as free to swing my cane around me as far as it will go. But that freedom ends at the tip of my neighbours nose". (just saying).
There is no such thing as absolute free speech which is what this article appears to suggest is the case in Malaysia under Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar Ibrahim has been witness to the destructive impact of unbridled "free speech"as expressed by a bunch of hoodlums including Malaysia's attorney's general, its judges, its lawyers and bar council that supported Regime Change and brought the courts, parliament and the king into disrepute. All in the name of free speech.
I may not like the man as many do. But it is quite clear that he knows that there are no permanent friends in politics. Just situations. And he is dealing with each of those situations he faces in the way in which fair weather friends, fickle minded NGO's and so called socio political 'rights' groups should be dealt with.
If Malaysia is to recover from decades of corruption, political and economic abuse of it's resources and reputation by these groups, their betrayals and defamatory comments against innocent individuals, then it definitely needs radical surgery.
Those cancerous NGO's (like C4) who sold their souls for 30 pieces of silver to foreign interests in the hope of reaping unjust rewards at the expense of the economy, law and order and the political stability and sovereignty of Malaysia, need to be cut out of the political system like a cancer.
Anwar is not a chameleon as many a writer has accused him of being. Anwar is a wolf in wolf's clothing. He was a Muslim fundamentalist from the Baling incident and before and a Malay nationalist since birth.
Politics is about power.
Power is evil.
Features of evil include slandering,lying,stealing,revenge,selfishness,destruction,suppression and neglect.
The justification?
The end justifies the means.