CAKAP tak serupa bikin (action not aligned with words) is an oft-head lament in the field of Malaysian politics.
The latest example of this came when the much-ballyhooed amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 was tabled.
These were passed after second reading by 59 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat with 40 voted “nay” and one abstained while pathetically, 122 MPs (of the total 222 MPs) were absent during vote count.
Following the outcome of the vote, the bill was tabled for a third reading and passed by voice vote.
Aside from the poor attendance, what stung was that those who voted the amendments through were from DAP and PKR which are the core component parties of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which had previously championed freedom of speech. These amendments aim to muzzle such rights.
The sense of outrage and disgust was apparent in a post on X by Loretta (@lorettabagg) who singled out 13 DAP/PH lawmakers for her scorn.
They are (in no particular order) Syahredzan Johan (Bangi), Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai), Ramkarpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor), Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya), Steven Sim Chee Keong (Bukit Mertajam), Adam Adli Abdul Halim (Hang Tuah Jaya), Young Syefura Othman (Bentong), Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Bukit Bendera), Teresa Kok (Seputeh), Yuneswaran Ramaraj (Segamat), Prabakaran Parameswaran (Batu), Sim Tze Tzin (Bayan Lepas) and RSN Rayer (Jelutong).
Heres the list of overpaid MPs who voted this authoritarian law in and they’re all from PH.
Syahredzan, Fahmi, Ramkarpal, Lee Chuan Cheng, SIM chee keong, Adam Adli, syerfura, syerleena, Teresa kok, yuneswaran, prabhakaran, Sim tze tzin, rayer,
Useless mada sambranis https://t.co/A1O6WO7Oug pic.twitter.com/U4t5eoJvV5
— Loretta (@lorettabagg) December 10, 2024
Labelling them “mada sambranis” (Tamil for cantankerous empty vessel or a blabbering dolt). Loretta went on to list in full the MP who voted in this contentious piece of legislation.
On the flipside, it was noted that those who voted against it were mainly from the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) as well as MUDA’s Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman while PKR’s Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim was the sole MP who abstained from voting.
The poster also made reference to former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun (Art Harun) by equating DAP’s Bangi rep Syahredzan as “Art Harun 2.0”.
She eventually singled out amendment to Section 233 which she claimed the “PH fanboys” had a lot to answer for when it was previously promised that the ruling coalition would abolish this law that seeks to curtail free speech.
Loretta went on to share a post by lawyer New Sin Yew (@S_Y_New) which outlined in great detail how wide ranging and vague the amendments to the Act are.
The sense of betrayal was shared by other netizens with the poster stating that she feared what further damage this administration will do.
The poster reiterated that this went against the DAP and PH’s manifestos that promised to do away with such draconian laws.
Some netizens though took umbrage with the absent lawmakers who were not present to debate such an important bill.
Backgrounder
Note that in March, the Communications and Digital Ministry welcomed all suggestions from MPs from both divides on how to improve Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
On this note, studies had been conducted on Section 233 to look at how to ensure that investigations can be conducted with ease, according to Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching.
As reported in the Malay Mail, DAP’s Syahredzan had asked if the government has plans to amend Section 233, claiming that it has been used for politically driven purposes to silence criticisms against politicians.
The human rights lawyer had previously urged the government to amend the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to safeguard the people’s freedom of expression.
He had pointed out Section 233 of the Act, in particular, that it was so wide it can and has been abused by those in power.
Section 233 criminalises online content that is obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person.
If convicted, the offender could be fined of not more than RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to one year or both. An offender can also be fined for another RM1,000 for every day that the offence is continued after conviction.
As pointed out, the amendments passed today seems to have made matters worse. DAP having been subject to various draconian laws over the decades when it was in opposition should know better.
Now that the shoe is on the other foot, they should be championing civil liberties that allow for a flourishing democracy. To remind them of the consequence of such draconian laws, they only need to turn back the clock to those dark days of Ops Lalang. – Dec 13, 2024
