KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 — The Malaysian government should hasten reforms to laws commonly used to silence its critics as well as defenders of human rights, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said today.
CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu made the call in response to the Malaysian government’s decision not to charge human rights activist Heidy Quah under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA).
Noting that it was initially reported yesterday that Quah was to be charged under that law, Wathshlah noted: “The government however made a sharp U-turn at the last minute and decided not to pursue the case.”
CIJ said it was glad that the new government decided not to pursue the case against Quah.
“This decision, we hope, foretells the government’s commitment in not weaponising repressive laws to silence critics and curtail our freedom of expression and speech. Human rights activists, such as Heidy Quah, should not have been investigated and intimidated for speaking out and critiquing government action,” she said.
Wathshlah said the CMA’s Section 233’s broad scope allows it to be wielded against human rights defenders, and said it has become a “tool of intimidation and harassment” by the government in recent years.
Just last year alone, CIJ documented 114 cases where Section 233 was used to investigate Internet users and human rights defenders, she said.
She said the government must always be open to scrutiny and constructive criticism in fulfilling its mandate.
“In this regard, we call upon Fahmi Fadzil as the new minister of Communications and Digital to hasten reforms with regards to the CMA, and other laws which are used to silence critics, specifically human rights defenders,” she said.
She said Malaysia needs a government that lives up to the citizens’ hope for unrestricted freedom of expression and speech, especially when it comes to holding the government accountable.
Quah, who founded the organisation Refuge for the Refugees, was first charged on July 27, 2021 in the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur for the offence of transmitting offensive communications with the alleged intent to annoy others.
She was alleged to have committed the offence through her June 5, 2020 Facebook post regarding the treatment of refugees at immigration detention centres.
The charge under Section 233(1)(a) came with a penalty upon conviction of a maximum RM50,000 fine or maximum jail term of one year or both, and a further RM1,000 fine for each day the offence is continued after conviction.
On April 25 last year, the Sessions Court agreed with Quah’s preliminary objection against the charge which was said to be defective, and granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).
The DNAA meant Quah was released from the charge but the prosecution can still decide to pursue the case against her in the future.
Yesterday afternoon, Quah in a Facebook post said she is set to be charged for the second time this morning under Section 233(1)(a) for the same June 2020 Facebook post. She described the Facebook post she had made in June 2020 as intended to amplify Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s concerns on the mass arrests of refugees and migrants during lockdowns which led to detention centres becoming Covid-19 hotspots due to the cramped living conditions.
Yesterday night, she updated her Facebook post by saying she had received a phone call from the investigating officer who told her she no longer need to go to court to be charged, and expressed hope that this would be the end of the matter “once and for all” and that she would no longer be charged.
