THE use of laws under the Communications and Multimedia Act against those who insult national leaders must be halted, pending the Pakatan Harapan government’s promise to review those laws in Parliament, said media watchdog group Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).

CIJ said it welcomed Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s disapproval of the arrest of a man who insulted him on Facebook and his call for a review of laws that stifled dissent.

“However, the use of this law must be halted in the meantime to prevent furthering its chilling effect that can silence political commentary, dissent, or criticism,” CIJ said in a statement today.

It said that Section 233 of the act had been used to silence criticism of the authorities by the previous ruling regime.

“Last year alone, it was used in 22 cases to address alleged insults against the prime minister, police, attorney-general, and political party leaders.”

CIJ said the law had “overly broad definitions”, along with heavy punishments that infringed on the constitutional right to freedom of expression.

The wording of the law that deems “to annoy” as an offence is vague and subjective, it added.

CIJ said there were sufficient laws under the Penal Code for aggrieved people to take action against those they felt insulted or offended by.

Punishments under the act is a jail term for up to one year and fine of up to RM50,000 for posting offensive content that “annoys” another person.

CIJ said that this went beyond legitimate restrictions on the freedom of expression such as preventing incitement to violence or for national security. – May 18, 2018.