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| Tuesday, 01 March 2016 10:19am | |||
 The
Malaysian Bar is aghast at the decision of the Malaysian Communications
and Multimedia Commission (“MCMC”) — pursuant to Sections 233 and
263(2) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (“CMA”) — to deny
public access to The Malaysian Insider (“TMI”) online news portal indefinitely.
MCMC
announced the decision in its statement dated 25 February 2016, without
giving any specific reason. However, it appears that MCMC has taken
action against TMI because TMI allegedly published matters that have
caused confusion. MCMC has not identified the offending publication(s)
by TMI that caused this purported confusion.
Communications
and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Mohd Salleh Tun Said
Keruak has reportedly said that TMI has been blocked as one of the
articles published by it “... quoted a statement that could cause
confusion because it contradicts with official statements by MACC. They
don’t mention who the source is. It could confuse the public.”[1]
Causing
public confusion is not, and cannot be, an offence under Section 233 of
the CMA. MCMC’s reliance on Section 233 for its action against TMI is
therefore without any basis, and oppressive. It is quite puzzling that
anyone could consider causing public confusion to be an offence at all.
It is also rather demeaning and offensive to assume that Malaysians
will be “confused” merely as a result of contradictory statements in the
press, or because the source of press statements was not disclosed.
Moreover,
MCMC cannot invoke Section 263(2) of the CMA for the purpose of barring
public access to websites on unjustifiable grounds. As a responsible
regulator, MCMC must always act in accordance with the law and must not
arrogate to itself powers that have not been conferred on it by
Parliament. The action taken by MCMC against TMI appears to be
unsustainable in law.
The
recent and emerging pattern of MCMC’s reliance on the CMA to bar access
to websites is alarming. It is seen as harassment and intimidation of
the media, and targeting of contrary or dissenting voices in the public
sphere. In July 2015, the whistleblower website, Sarawak Report, was blocked for allegedly publishing unverified information relating to the Prime Minister. Other websites such as Medium, Outsyed the Box, Tabunginsider, Jinggo Photopages, Din Turtle, Asia Sentinel and Malaysia Chronicle
have also been blocked.[2] The legality of MCMC’s action under the CMA
in respect of these other websites also appears to be questionable.
The
right to information, or the right to know, is implicit in the
guarantee of freedom of speech and expression that belongs to every
citizen, as enshrined in Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution.
Indeed, a true democracy envisages a meaningful right to know.[3] The
blocking of access to websites is a serious curtailment of the right to
know, as it thwarts the flow or dissemination of information, thoughts
and ideas. This renders the constitutional guarantee in Article
10(1)(a) vacuous or meaningless.[4]
Further,
a critical and complementary aspect of the fundamental right to freedom
of speech and expression is contained in Article 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
In
this regard, the freedom of the press is integral to freedom of speech
and expression,[5] and is regarded as a necessary derivative of the
right to know.[6] The media, whether publicly- or privately-owned,
must be free to report on matters of public interest. Press freedom
encourages transparency, accountability and an open society.[7] A free
press is imperative to the credibility of any democratic system of
government.
While
it is recognised that the freedom of speech and expression is not
absolute,[8] any restriction of this fundamental liberty cannot be
founded on any arbitrary and unlawful exercise of power by the
authorities. This would be nothing less than a frontal assault on the
rule of law.
The
Malaysian Bar urges the MCMC to abide by the Federal Constitution,
respect the rule of law and immediately withdraw the prohibition of
public access to the TMI online news portal.
Steven Thiru
President
Malaysian Bar
1 March 2016
[1] “Minister justifies TMI block, says due to contradictory report on MACC panel”, Malay Mail Online, 26 February 2016.
[2] (a) “Minister defends blocking medium.com, says it broke the law”, Malaysiakini, 4 February 2016.
(b) “Four more websites blocked by MCMC”, Malaysiakini, 28 January 2016.
(c) “Putrajaya blocks blogs that published leaked Tabung Haji letters”, The Malaysian Insider, 28 January 2016.
(d) “‘Years of work gone’ after MCMC blocks freelance journo’s site”, Malaysiakini, 28 January 2016.
(f) “Malaysia Chronicle website blocked”, The Malaysian Insider, 24 October 2015.
[3] Justice JS Verma, “Freedom of Expression.” World of All Human Rights , Soli J. Sorabjee — A Festschrift. Ed. RN Trivedi. Universal Law Publishing Co Pvt Ltd, 2015, p.18.
[4] Ibid, p.18.
[5] Bennet Coleman v. Union of India, AIR 1973 SC 106.
[6] Justice JS Verma, op cit, pp.18-19.
[7] Ibid, p.19.
[8] Article 10(2)(a), Federal Constitution.
See related posts, which also looks at the relevant sections:-
TM blocks access to Malaysian Insider? Based on Multimedia Commission's request based on an alleged offence? Unjust and draconian? |
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