PAKATAN Harapan lawmakers said the government must not hide behind a fake news bill, and should either deny or take legal action against foreign news outlets if their reports on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) are false.

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin of PKR said 53 international news portals, ranging from The Economists to CNN and the Jakarta Post, have extensively reported on allegations of the embezzlement of billions of ringgit from state-owned 1MDB.

He was responding to Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Johari Jailani’s recent statement that all allegations on 1MDB that has not been verified by the Malaysian government was fake news.

“I want to tell the minister that all over the world, of late, 53 news portals starting with the very renowned ones like The Economist, Guardian, CNBC, MSNBC, CNN and the Middle Eastern News, Jakarta Post, Tempo and Straits Times, Bangkok Post have been reporting on 1MDB.

“And they have linked the prime minister. If these news are not acknowledged by the government, as the minister says are fake news, then the prime minister has to deny it or sue them,” said Sim in Parliament.

Sim said failing to do so would confuse the Malaysian people, adding that the government does not have a “monopoly over fake news”.

Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (Amanah-Sepang) said Malaysia is facing the real threat of “real news” being denied by the government.

“Malaysia doesn’t have the problem of fake news. This RM2.6 billion case is true, but the prime minister has not been charged,” he said.

“So, I think we don’t need to table the anti-fake news bill. We are not facing a problem of fake news, we have a problem of a fake prime minister!” Hanipa said in Parliament today.

He was referring to the US$681 million (popularly known as RM2.6 billion, according to the exchange rate at the time)  that was transferred to prime minister Najib Razak’s personal bank account in 2013. The transaction was revealed in 2015, and Najib has said the money was a personal gift from Saudi royalty.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said announced that the anti fake news bill was approved by the cabinet yesterday.

The  proposal will be debated in parliament next week.

“A briefing for Barisan Nasional (BN) and opposition MPs will also be held next week” she said.

Azalina said last week that Putrajaya was getting input from major tech giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to draft the bill.

Activists and lawyers claim there are enough laws to tackle fake news, while opposition politicians fear the new legislation will be used to clamp down on media reports that highlight government abuses. – March 22, 2018.