KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 — Human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) today disclosed that 75 individuals were arrested this year under Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA), with the majority of cases related to sharing sensitive comments about religion and royalty.
In its Human Rights Report Malaysia 2022, the non-governmental organisation said that Section 233 had been used to stifle political expression online due to the ambiguous language and unclear definition of "annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person”.
"It should be noted that unlike Sedition Act 1948, Section 233 of the CMA does not require the communication to be seditious, or to have the intention to incite violence or to instigate the commission of any offense,” Suaram said in its report.
Among the individuals arrested, visual artist Fahmi Reza's name appeared four times for criticising the government and mocking the royalty.
His more notable case included posting a drawing of the cartoon character "Mojo Jojo” dressed in royal attire which resulted in him being arrested on April 14, this year.
Suaram in its report urged the government to uphold freedom of the press and give space to media personnel to report the truth and hold the powerful accountable without interference.
Suaram also criticised the police for investigating journalist Laitha Kunaratnam, who had exposed Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki's controversial share ownership issues and New Straits Times’ group editor Farrah Naz Karim for her account of the abduction of Palestinians in Malaysia.
"The right of an individual, group, or community of people to freely express their beliefs, thoughts, and ideas continued to be eroded in 2022,” said Suaram.
