Bar Council protesting against the Sedition Act in 2014. It is also still calling for the Act to be repealed. — The Star
AS the unity government celebrates its first year in power, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s government needs to do more to achieve promised goals of reform and freedom of expression.
The CIJ notes in its one-year review that the government appears to have made no progress or even backtracked on a number of important issues since coming into power last November. The most significant setback centres on the Sedition Act 1948, says CIJ executive director Wathshlah G. Naidu.
Contrary to Anwar’s promise to limit use of the Act to matters concerning royalty, CIJ’s monitoring reveals that the law was invoked 29 times in 2023 alone, up till Nov 21. In 2022, it was used only 15 times.
The CIJ also calls out the government for utilising the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 throughout the past year.
“Reviewing and repealing the PPPA is a promise that seems to have been long forgotten, with multiple raids still being carried out to suppress authors, publishers and even bookstore owners,” Wathshlah says.
She cites as an example: The government used the Act to justify the raid on Swatch outlets to seize products with rainbow colours in May; in August, a raid on independent bookstore Toko Buku Rakyat seized two books.
The amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act is another promise placed on the backburner, says the CIJ. The amendments are supposed to allow whistleblowers to directly expose misappropriations and wrongdoings to the media, but there has not been much progress on specific mechanisms needed despite ongoing discussions.
The setbacks do not mean that there has been absolutely no progress, and the CIJ recognises developments in several important reforms since last November. However, considering all the promises made, the lack of or slow progress has not been lost on the CIJ.
“Although we realise change does not happen in a day, CIJ notes that reform must form a cornerstone of this government.”
For instance, in 2018, Pakatan Harapan promised to repeal the Official Secret Act (OSA) 1972 but today the administration is looking into amending the law instead to work with the proposed right to information (RTI) law.
There has been commendable progress made in drafting the new RTI law, but the CIJ says it will be for naught if the OSA is not amended appropriately at the same time.
“While we see significant progress on the RTI law, no progress is evident when it comes to the amendments to the OSA.
“The lack of progress in this regard is likely to hamper the development of the RTI law, as an open and transparent information ecosystem cannot co-exist within a culture of secrecy, unless significant amendments are made to the OSA to ensure effective alignment with the RTI law,” Wathshlah says.
Aside from the developments on the RTI law, the CIJ acknowledges that efforts are also being made to establish a Malaysian Media Council as well as to review the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998.
However, the group remains concerned by the continued use of the CMA to censor speech and expression disproportionately.
“Our media monitoring records have shown that out of 184 investigations, 98 of them have been carried out under Section 233 of the CMA.
“This sets a precedent for the reluctance of the government to make meaningful changes in these amendments so that this law is not arbitrarily used and abused as it suits the government’s values and agenda.
“We urge that this progress is continued undeterred and not be marred by political expediency, and for the amendments to be fully centred on international human rights standards,” she says.
Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching said in September that amendments to the CMA are expected to be tabled in Parliament early next year, following engagement with relevant stakeholders.
The CIJ feels that the government under Anwar’s leadership has a long way to go in keeping promises made during the election campaign and maintaining its reform platform.
“It is time to demonstrate its commitment to the people of Malaysia and not let political expediency mar its track record.
“We can still realise a free, fair and equal democracy where everyone’s voice may be heard,” Wathshlah says.
