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| Police clampdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly |
1MDB Malaysia to check internet’s freedom of expression
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Google, Facebook and Yahoo to intervene if 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Prime Minister Najib Razak’s Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government rams in new internet controls.
We in No News Is Bad News opines that there is nothing the HRW and the three tech giants can do if Najib goes ahead with the proposed amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) that aims at restricting free speech on the Internet, just like in Singapore.
Common sense dictates that if the HRW and the three tech giants had the teeth and bite to stop such a restrictive piece of legislation, Singapore would not have been able to do what it has done to freedom of speech and expression, and the internet.
As for the BN to ape Singapore on restricting freedom of speech and expression, there are many positive and significantly proven Singapore government socio-economic policies that Malaysia can follow but why are they not?
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| This picture is just an illustration of freedom of speech not allowed! |
Clearly, racial and religious rhetoric are today applied to the hilt to divide-and-rule multi-racial multi-religious Malaysia, irrespective of the negative consequences to society, as long as it serves Umno’s interest and agenda.
Looking at the long-term political effects, Umno is slowly but surely turning Malaysia from Democracy to Autocracy of Politics.
Here are the two Malay Mail stories, re-posted by the Malaysian-banned on-line news portal Malaysia Chronicle, that clearly points to that negative political transformation:
"GOOGLE, FACEBOOK & YAHOO URGED TO STOP NAJIB: TECH GIANTS MUST INTERVENE IF NAJIB RAMS IN NEW INTERNET CONTROLS – HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Politics | October 13, 2016 by | 0 Comments
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia appears to be trying to emulate Singapore in controlling the Internet and freedom of speech by reportedly proposing the registration of blogs and news portals, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today.
HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson alleged that the proposed amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) were looking to restrict free speech on the Internet, like in Singapore.
“They are trying to put the Internet genie back into the bottle. The proposed changes to the CMA is very worrisome. It already is very vague.
“They will be looking into forcing websites and political blogs to register under the government. Malaysia wants to try emulate Singapore in the way that they want to crack down on freedom of speech,” he said during a press conference today.
The global human rights group today lodged their annual report, where they claimed that Putrajaya’s crackdown on dissent and freedom of expression has worsened over the past year.
Robertson also warned Malaysia that if the government goes ahead with amending the CMA following Singapore’s model, it would cause friction between the authorities and the people.
“Malaysia should seriously consider abandoning this approach to emulate Singapore’s model and be at loggerheads with the people,” he stressed.
“If you look at Singapore, they have used a regulatory model to really restrict what goes up there. Aggressive use of those laws in Malaysia will significantly impact online portals.
“The government is not even-handed in dealing with news media and the Internet for to insert more control would be problematic,” Robertson explained further.
If Putrajaya does go ahead with its amendments to the CMA, Robertson suggested that Internet giants like Google and Facebook intervene, as it would be affecting them as well.
“This is a major challenge for Internet freedom for Malaysia. Not just incumbent about Malaysians but also companies who claim [they’re] paragon(s) for international freedom.
“People like Google, Facebook and Yahoo! Time for them to step in and speak to the Malaysian government. It is not just a problem for us here, but for you as well,” he said.
It was reported last year that the government was looking to amend the CMA. Among the suggestions include registering online news portals and blogs.
There have been also rumours that the new amendments will follow closely to what is done in Singapore where licences are given to websites and a review is made every two years.– Malay Mail"
"UNDER NAJIB REGIME, ‘CULTURE OF FEAR’ HAS WORSENED – HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WARNS OF DOWNSPIRAL
Politics | October 13, 2016 by | 0 Comments
KUALA LUMPUR – Putrajaya’s crackdown on forms of dissent has worsened with the use of even more laws to suppress public criticism, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The global rights group said reported cases of Malaysians being investigated and prosecuted using an array of laws over the public expression of dissent have markedly risen since the maiden edition of its report on the criminalisation of free speech here.
“The Malaysian authorities …continue to use the overly broad and vaguely worded criminal laws identified there to harass, arrest, and prosecute those critical of the government or of members of Malaysia’s royal families,” the report read.
Among the laws it said were being used against politicians, activists and everyday citizens were the Sedition Act 1948, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) and the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA).
It also noted that the government was increasingly clamping down on public protests and rallies, which the HRW said was a violation of the right to assembly.
The group highlighted, in particular, the growing frequency with which the law governing the use of the Internet was being employed against social media users and online news outlets, including restricting access to news portals.
“The use of the CMA to block access to websites reporting on serious allegations of corruption and other political issues violates not only the rights of those who posted the information, but also those seeking to access information on matters of public interest,” the report read.
It further said that the Sedition Act that Putrajaya had once pledge to repeal was now being used ever more frequently.
The HRW also cited the prosecution of PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli under the OSA for what it categorised as a whistleblowing act in public interest.
The Pandan MP is currently on trial for divulging parts of the Auditor-General’s report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd, which is classified under the OSA.
The report claimed that under Global Principles on National Security and the Right to Information (the Tshwane Principles), the document should not have been marked as a state secret.
“The continued classification of documents on a matter of significant public interest, with no demonstration that the disclosure of those documents would threaten national security or public order, is inconsistent with international standards on public access to information,” it read.
It added that the OSA did not consider intent or require the demonstration of harm from the act of exposing classified information.
The HRW then urged Putrajaya to reverse the erosion of rights and liberties in Malaysia by discontinuing all investigations and prosecutions for acts of public dissent.
It also called on the Malaysian government to repeal or amend laws cited above that were being used to suppress dissent.
The HRW report is currently in its second year. The previous edition contained similar criticisms and calls for remedial action.– Malay Mail"
“This is a major challenge for Internet freedom for Malaysia. Not just incumbent about Malaysians but also companies who claim [they’re] paragon(s) for international freedom.
“People like Google, Facebook and Yahoo! Time for them to step in and speak to the Malaysian government. It is not just a problem for us here, but for you as well,” he said.
It was reported last year that the government was looking to amend the CMA. Among the suggestions include registering online news portals and blogs.
There have been also rumours that the new amendments will follow closely to what is done in Singapore where licences are given to websites and a review is made every two years.– Malay Mail"
"UNDER NAJIB REGIME, ‘CULTURE OF FEAR’ HAS WORSENED – HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WARNS OF DOWNSPIRAL
Politics | October 13, 2016 by | 0 Comments
KUALA LUMPUR – Putrajaya’s crackdown on forms of dissent has worsened with the use of even more laws to suppress public criticism, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The global rights group said reported cases of Malaysians being investigated and prosecuted using an array of laws over the public expression of dissent have markedly risen since the maiden edition of its report on the criminalisation of free speech here.
“The Malaysian authorities …continue to use the overly broad and vaguely worded criminal laws identified there to harass, arrest, and prosecute those critical of the government or of members of Malaysia’s royal families,” the report read.
Among the laws it said were being used against politicians, activists and everyday citizens were the Sedition Act 1948, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) and the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA).
It also noted that the government was increasingly clamping down on public protests and rallies, which the HRW said was a violation of the right to assembly.
The group highlighted, in particular, the growing frequency with which the law governing the use of the Internet was being employed against social media users and online news outlets, including restricting access to news portals.
“The use of the CMA to block access to websites reporting on serious allegations of corruption and other political issues violates not only the rights of those who posted the information, but also those seeking to access information on matters of public interest,” the report read.
It further said that the Sedition Act that Putrajaya had once pledge to repeal was now being used ever more frequently.
The HRW also cited the prosecution of PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli under the OSA for what it categorised as a whistleblowing act in public interest.
The Pandan MP is currently on trial for divulging parts of the Auditor-General’s report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd, which is classified under the OSA.
The report claimed that under Global Principles on National Security and the Right to Information (the Tshwane Principles), the document should not have been marked as a state secret.
“The continued classification of documents on a matter of significant public interest, with no demonstration that the disclosure of those documents would threaten national security or public order, is inconsistent with international standards on public access to information,” it read.
It added that the OSA did not consider intent or require the demonstration of harm from the act of exposing classified information.
The HRW then urged Putrajaya to reverse the erosion of rights and liberties in Malaysia by discontinuing all investigations and prosecutions for acts of public dissent.
It also called on the Malaysian government to repeal or amend laws cited above that were being used to suppress dissent.
The HRW report is currently in its second year. The previous edition contained similar criticisms and calls for remedial action.– Malay Mail"
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