N Surendran said it was “unbelievable” that the AGC wished to uphold the “oppressive” law made and passed by the former Barisan Nasional government.
“We call upon the AGC to withdraw its objection before the hearing date,” he said after meeting High Court judge Azizah Nawawi in chambers today.
The court fixed May 21 to hear the AGC’s objection.
When asked about the AGC’s grounds for objecting to the judicial review, Surendran said it had cited “special circumstances”.
Malaysiakini had filed the review to quash the law before the May 9 election, saying it breached the Federal Constitution.
It also said the law was unreasonable and irrational as its definition of “fake news” was unclear.
Pakatan Harapan (PH) had pledged to repeal the law if the coalition won federal power in the 14th general election.
However, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that “proper” definitions would be provided so that the public and media are clear on what “fake news” means.
However Surendran, who is a member of PKR, maintained that the fake news law must be repealed.
“This was PH’s promise and they’d better repeal it,” he said.
Malaysiakini owner makes bid to strike out anti-fake news law