LAWYERS for Liberty (LFL) has expressed concern over news reports that the Cabinet has approved plans to impose licencing and regulation of social media platforms, including the regulation of political content.
Calling the news “shocking and disturbing”, LFL director Zaid Malek said it is yet another indication that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led government is attempting to stifle and control freedom of speech, continuing the current trend of clamping down on public discourse under the guise of stemming supposedly harmful and illegal content.
“The government’s methods are cynical. While pretending to act for the public good, they are in fact acting in their self-interest,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (June 15).
“Criticism by the public of the government online and on social media has been robust and effective, as it should be in any proper democracy.
“Instead of accepting criticism and responding to it, the government is attempting to claim down on it by oppressive regulation in the time-honoured manner of authoritarian regimes.”
Abolishing draconian laws
Zaid said despite decades of promising reform, the Pakatan Harapan-led government has shown itself to be an “enemy of the constitutional right to freedom of speech” under Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
He said the PH government had reneged on its promise to abolish draconian laws against the public, adding that the government has been deliberately instilling a climate of fear to deter people from airing serious criticisms of the government or its policies.
Citing the widely-reported Forest City casino issue, Zaid said the government had threatened the public against discussing the matter, even resorting to charging prominent critics like Chegubard under the infamous Sedition Act for making a Facebook post based on the news reported by Bloomberg.
“It is thus unsurprising that the government’s new plan to impose licencing and regulations of social media has set the alarm bells ringing. It stinks of despotism and self-interest. It draws comparisons with North Korea, Communist China and PAP-ruled Singapore,” Zaid remarked.
He further stressed that it is abhorrent that the Cabinet, which consists of members of PH – a political coalition that owes its survival and success to online news and social media platforms – are now planning severe restrictions on it.
“This is the ultimate betrayal of its reform promises and a failure to uphold Constitutional rights,” said Zaid.
“We urge the government to retract this despotic new plan to stifle online criticism, specifically any part of the planned regulations that aims to censor or limit discourse on matters of public importance, particularly the purported regulations regarding political content.
“Any such regulations existing would make a mockery of the Constitution and relegate our country to dictatorial rule.” – June 25, 2024
Main pic credit: Wikipedia
