PUTRAJAYA is looking to amend Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA), said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

He said the law is too broad in nature and a study is being carried out on the amendment.

“There may be amendments which relate to investigations, there will be amendments which relate to regulations, there are some provisions we will remove and some new provisions we will bring in,” he said after attending the launch of Integrated Parcel Center (IPC) Expansion Project in Shah Alam today.

Section 233 of the CMA criminalises the use of network facilities or services by a person to transmit any communication deemed offensive and could cause annoyance to another person.

Under the previous Barisan Nasional government, the act has come under fire from civil society groups, who called it an encroachment on the freedom of speech and expression.

The National Human Rights Society (Hakam) yesterday had slammed the use of repressive laws such as the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the CMA against human rights lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri for allegedly insulting the monarchy.

The group also called for a government to impose a moratorium on use of the laws that are considered oppressive pending their repeal.

Gobind also said Pakatan Harapan will make good on its election manifesto to repeal the Sedition Act.

“This is one of the provisions that we are going to consider to look at and to repeal, but this is something that comes under the purview of the law minister.

“The minister of law has been appointed and I think he’s looking into it and also areas involving Anti-Fake News law, and also the Freedom of Information (Act) that has been suggested,” he said. – July 12, 2018.