The global human rights organisation, with its headquarters in New York, charged that the proposed law is aimed at stopping discussion in Malaysia and abroad on the troubled 1MDB, which was set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak, according to a Reuters report.
The investment fund is being investigated for alleged embezzlement and money laundering in a number of countries.
It recently hit world headlines again when Indonesian authorities, working with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, seized a luxury yacht in Bali that the US Department of Justice claimed was bought with money misappropriated from 1MDB.
The US authorities claimed the yacht, Equanimity, belonged to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
“Malaysia’s fake news bill is a blatant attempt by the government to prevent any and all news that it doesn’t like, whether about corruption or elections,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW, in the report.
“The proposed law uses draconian penalties and broad language in an audacious and unprecedented effort to control discussion of Malaysia worldwide.”
The Anti-Fake News 2018 Bill, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on March 26, is currently being debated.
If passed, it will provide for jail time of up to six years and a fine of RM500,000 for “maliciously” creating, distributing or publishing fake news.
The Bill defines fake news to include “news, information, data and reports” that are “wholly or partly false”.
“The Malaysian government has no monopoly on the truth, but it’s attempting to be the arbiter of what can and can’t be said and written,” Adams said.
He added that the government should withdraw the bill immediately.