THE Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has slammed the anti-fake news bill, saying it cannot be supported due to its “far-reaching”, ambiguous wording that could “inspire an authoritarian government.

The government body said it has perused the bill tabled on Monday in the Dewan Rakyat by de facto law minister Azalina Othman. In a statement today, it said it “cannot support” the bill for the following 10 reasons:

1. The bill in its present form has far reaching consequences as the law could be used to exert government control over the media. At present, Malaysia is ranked poorly at 144th out of 180 countries by Reporters Without Borders in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index;

2. The implications of the proposed law can be enormous and can inspire an authoritarian form of government. The government’s track record in utilising laws for reasons other than its intended purpose is arguably questionable;

3. The bill fails to specify the body responsible to verify whether the news or information is fake;

4. Not only have there been very limited consultations with the public, the dissolution of parliament being imminent means that debates on the bill, for the bill to become law will be rushed. This
practice is not in the national interest.

5. Despite being legally mandated to advise and assist government in formulating legislation, Suhakam was only invited to the final consultation, without having sight of the bill. The trend to ignore this provision in the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999 is of serious concern.

6. The definition of fake news in the bill is unclear as it does not offer a distinction between news generated by malicious intent or otherwise.

7. Clause 8(3) of the intended law is unclear in its definition of that can be “prejudicial or likely to be prejudicial to public order or national security”. Suhakam cannot agree on this clause as it ousts the jurisdiction of the courts, further taking away judicial powers and denying the right to seek relief from the courts, which is an affront to the rule of law in a democratic form of government.

8. This is also not in line with the intended spirit of the principles of freedom of expression in the Federal Constitution and Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

9. The meaning of “knowingly” under clause 4(1) is ambiguous.

10. The penalties proposed in the bill can be interpreted as being unreasonable and disproportionate.

“Suhakam strongly suggests that a parliamentary committee be set up to consider plausible measures to address the issue of fake news and to avoid confusion among the public,” said Suhakam chairman Razali Ismail in the statement.

He added that there are “many laws” to address forms of hate speech or unlawful content, which are found, among others, in the Penal Code, Sedition Act, Defamation Act, Printing Presses and Publication Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act.

Anti-graft body calls on lawmakers to reject bill

Meanwhile, the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) urged lawmakers to reject the anti-fake news bill, saying misinformation should be combated with transparency instead of heavier prosecution.

“While the world is moving towards open governance and information sharing in the digital spheres, it is disturbing that Malaysia slides deeper into authoritarianism, and remains rife with misinformation due to a lack of information,” said C4 Centre executive director Cynthia Gabriel.

“The arbitrariness of the definition of “fake news” is repugnant to the rule of law, and with the bill empowering only the attorney-general to prosecute, it promotes greater impunity. It is a crushing
blow for civic spaces and investigative journalism in this country.”

She said the bill further disincentivises whistleblowers, which makes detecting and fighting corruption more difficult, as the bill covers any sort of medium by which a whistleblower may expose potential malfeasance.

“C4 Centre already believes that the Whistleblowers Protection Act is weak and needs to be strengthened, and such a fake news law will have the chilling effect of silencing them,” she said.

She said the bill may lead to the opposite intended effect of creating more misinformation.

“At the heart of this debate is a key principle of freedom of information: maximal disclosure, with a limited scope of exceptions. Information is power, and a regime in power for six decades knows this only too well.

“This episode only serves to highlight how a law that restricts the flow of information fuels more speculation rather than clarify the truth; encourages impunity and fuels corruption.

She said all information held by public bodies, institutions and organisations should by default be disclosed to the public, but only very specific exceptions that constitute harm to security and public interest should be withheld.

“Transparency is the best arbiter of fake news.”

The bill to outlaw fake news proposes a fine of up to RM500,000 or a 10-year jail term for the offender.

Put to the vote, it will require only a simple majority for the bill to be passed in the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara, which is sitting concurrently. It is then submitted to the King for royal
assent, after which it becomes law. – March 28, 2018.