RIGHTS group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has slammed Communications Director Fahmi Fadzil for his use of the term “slander” to allegedly justify the government’s crackdown on freedom of expression.

Responding to communications minister Fahmi Fadzil’s remark that there is a difference between freedom of speech and slander, LFL director Zaid Malek said addressing slander was no excuse to curtail freedom of expression.

“This is a strawman response that mischaracterises the report which did not defend slander but criticised the actions of the Pakatan Harapan-led government in utilising repressive laws such as the Sedition Act, the Communications and Multimedia Act, the Printing, Presses and Publications Act and other oppressive laws to curtail free speech,” Zaid said in a statement on Thursday (April 25).

“These are the same laws that Harapan promised in its political manifesto to repeal - promises forgotten now that they are in power.”

Zaid said to use “slander” as an excuse to crack down on freedom of expression is “dishonest, evasive and hypocritical”, adding that slander is not a matter for criminal law to punish.

“Anyone slandered can file a civil suit for defamation. This includes the prime minister as well if he feels he has been slandered with an allegation that he is ‘suffering from an illness’.

“The PM is not entitled to any special protection under the criminal law. All citizens are equal under Article 8 of the Constitution.”

Decline in freedom of expression

Yesterday, Fahmi responded to Amnesty International’s claim that freedom of expression in Malaysia had declined after more than a year under the unity government.

The unity government spokesman said he acknowledged the group’s viewpoint but maintained that “there’s a difference between freedom of speech and slander”.

The minister also said that no journalist had been arrested or news portal shut down in the time that the unity government had been in power.

However, Zaid said these were not appropriate measurements to gauge press freedom in Malaysia, pointing out that the communications ministry’s code of ethics for journalists had been rejected by multiple newsmen.

He also said that constantly threatening criminal action for “fake news” or “slander” could curtail open and meaningful discourse on issues of public interest.

In response to this, Zaid said the fact that there has been no arrest of journalists does not mean freedom of press is protected or respected by the government.

“(Fahmi’s) own ministry launched the new code of ethics that was widely lambasted as it is a standing threat to journalists for alleged ‘unethical’ reporting,” he remarked.

“Again, the government decides what is or is not ethical reporting. The climate of anxiety and self-censorship created by the government is in itself evidence of curtailment of the freedom of the press.

“It is also important to note that the government has taken criminal action against citizen journalists by taking down their social media accounts and dragging the individuals for criminal action under the various draconian laws.”

Zaid said Fahmi’s “knee-jerk” denial of Amnesty International’s complaint “entirely ignores that any healthy and functioning democracy should not utilise laws to clamp down any criticisms or dissent” against the government of the day.

“It is not for the government to claim ownership of truth and hide behind buzzwords like ‘fake news’, whose definition is entirely up to the government to decide,” he elaborated.

“There cannot be a free and meaningful discourse on public interest issues if the government repeatedly threatens criminal action for ‘fake news’ or ‘slander’.” - April 25, 2024 

https://focusmalaysia.my/evasive-hypocritical-lfl-slams-fahmi-for-using-slander-as-excuse-to-restrict-freedom-of-expression/