ACTION taken against Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh and news portal Malaysiakini are signs of a shrinking democratic space under the Perikatan Nasional government, said Lim Guan Eng today. 

The DAP secretary-general said police probe against his party’s lawmaker and the attorney-general’s move to cite Malaysiakini for contempt also raised disturbing questions about freedom of expression under the new government. 

He added that Yeoh, as a former deputy minister of women, family and community development and an MP, had every right to put forth her view in public, especially on matters she had been working on under the previous Pakatan Harapan government. 

“The investigation against her is an attempt to silence and intimidate her from speaking out on these issues or criticise the PN government.

“DAP condemns such action against Yeoh and calls upon police to halt the investigation,” Lim said in a statement. 

Yeoh has been summoned to Bukit Aman to answer for her tweet on the fate of the child marriage roadmap, a key PH policy undertaken by Yeoh’s ministry. 

The tweet in question was dated March 9, in which she asked what would happen to the roadmap after the appointment of her successor and Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff. 

Yeoh is being investigated under Section 505 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. 

Meanwhile, Lim also urged A-G Idrus Harun to withdraw contempt proceedings against Malaysiakini and its editor-in-chief Steven Gan to uphold media freedom. 

Lim said the decision to cite the news portal over comments made by its readers was tantamount to blaming the vehicle for the accident when the driver is responsible.  

“While some of the comments are abhorrent in nature and should not be condoned, the A-G must not attempt to penalise Malaysiakini or Gan for those readers’ comments.  

“Action, if any, should be initiated against the commentators for those comments, instead of Malaysiakini. 

“The A-G is placing an onerous responsibility on the media websites by making them liable for what others say.  

“For all intents and purposes, act against those who made irresponsible comments but not against a news portal that does not endorse those views,” he added. 

The A-G’s application, filed on Monday, concerns comments posted by readers in response to an article on June 9 about the chief justice’s instruction to all courts to be fully operational from July 1, following the easing of movement restrictions. 

The Federal Court had then granted leave to the A-G to pursue action. – June 19, 2020.