“Even though we support freedom of the press and freedom of speech, there are limits,” Mahathir said in a live telecast over RTM this afternoon, Reuters reported.
The abolition of the anti-fake news law had been among the campaign promises of Pakatan Harapan, the coalition of PKR, DAP, PPBM and Amanah.
There had been an outcry about the new law, with critics saying that existing laws were sufficient to deal with the problem. The government at the time said no specific law existed to deal with the current circumstances where ordinary people were circulating news on social media.
In the telecast, Mahathir also said foreign investors must bring in capital and technology, and set up factories for either domestic distribution or export. The country will invite foreign participation in large infrastructure projects “when we don’t have the expertise”, he said.
During the campaign, Mahathir had questioned the huge investments being made by China and Chinese companies in Malaysian infrastructure and property projects.