Gwen Lee, Amnesty International Malaysia’s interim executive director, said there were worrying calls to increase punishment for publishing anything deemed to be obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in nature under the act.
Lee said the law as it stands already violates freedom of expression, without applying criminal penalties, including imprisonment, to what should at most be a matter of civil law.
“It should be repealed or amended to bring it in line with international rights rather than made even more draconian,” she said at a press conference following the release of the global human rights movement’s latest report here today.
The report said in 2018, freedom of speech would be a key battleground for human rights and one that should be protected.
It said there will be attacks on the press with prominent leaders touting “fake news” as a way to manipulate opinion, and the closure of NGOs and killing of activists.
Speaking the truth is becoming more dangerous, the report added.
The report suggested that it was vital to speak out in a climate where governments were using mass communication to stoke fear and control speech.
Lee also described as “worrying” the legislation proposed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said that aimed to curb “fake news”.
Azalina defended the need for the new law, saying it would make members of the public more responsible in dealing with unconfirmed information.
Prime Minister Najib Razak said fake news was a threat to political stability and public order.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had suggested that the punishment for creating and spreading “fake news” should be increased to a fine of RM500,000 and 10 years imprisonment as the existing penalties were insufficient.