A PETITION against Putrajaya’s anti-fake news bill that was put up by civil group Aliran on The Action Network site is gaining support fast.

The petition put up yesterday has gained 6,650 signatures as of 1.30pm today. 

Aliran president Dr Prema Devaraj said the petition to “Drop the repressive anti-fake news bill” aims to voice the people’s protest against the bill and raise an awareness on the increasing authoritarianism of the government. 

“The bill has severe implications for freedom of speech, democracy and human rights in the country,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Prema said Aliran had not set a target for the number of signatures but would want to see if it could get “between 10,000 and 15,000 signatures over the next few days” before forwarding the petition to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The anti-fake news bill that proposes a jail term of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of RM500,000, or both was tabled for the first reading at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, leading to an outcry among lawyers and civil society.

Aliran, in its petition, said BN “was trying to ram through parliament ahead of the general election” a bill that was a “draconian bit of legislation that must be opposed”.

“The overly broad definition of fake news extends the traditional definition of news to cover all sorts of other messages in a way that goes beyond any good intention of the bill. 

“In fact, it will make victims out of anyone who steps beyond a moving line. The bill will make the Najib administration the sole definer of what constitutes truth. Everything else that contradicts their narrative would be simply fake. 

“It is as good as the government having a Ministry of Truth (or its equivalent), a normal characteristic of any dictatorship on the planet,” said the Aliran executive committee.

Aliran said it suspected that the bill was meant to “conceal uncomfortable truths” like the scandals the BN administration has been linked to and accused of like 1Malaysia Development Bhd, Scorpene and Felda – making it harder to hold the government accountable.

The Penang-based civil group said those pushing for the bill are probably hoping that the overly wide definition of fake news and the heavy penalties will intimidate the public and rein in those who express dissent. 

This was exactly what the authorities had done with the now defunct Internal Security Act , Aliran said.

“They hope that speeches in political ceramah in the coming general election will become more sanitised, and opposition politicians will become overcautious in their delivery.

“They hope journalists, bloggers and commentators will become more circumspect when writing on public interest issues; and the public will grow more fearful of sharing critical messages, videos and images on social media and instant messaging apps.

“They hope the bill will spell the death knell for satire and parody – for the very definition of such work is that it is at least partly ‘false’.”

Aliran also pointed out that a clause against those who provide financial assistance to those who commit a fake news offence was also worrying. 

It could mean those who contribute to crowd-sourcing or fundraising campaigns to help pay fines or damages, and those who subscribe or advertise in news portals or online dailies might also be held liable. – March 28, 2018.