Abd Karim: Anti-Fake News Bill to prevent spread of untrue, fake news
KUCHING: A Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu ( PBB) leader says the Anti- Fake News Bill 2018, once passed, will prevent the social media from being misused by unscrupulous individuals or organisations to intentionally spread untrue and fake news.
PBB vice president Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said some form of control had to be introduced because it’s easy nowadays to disseminate news and information through the many new form of media, especially social media.
“The new Bill should not be seen as curtailing freedom of speech. Its introduction is to stop ‘ fake and untrue’ news by individuals or organisations who knowingly know that the information to be spread or disseminated are false.”
He said members of the public need not have to worry much about the new Bill.
“Only those who want to create alarm by disseminating false news are worried. In a way, the public will be more cautious and careful when providing and spreading information and news,” said Abdul Karim who is also Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports.
Civil society on human rights and law reform initiative may have a different view over the Bill.
In a March 26 press statement, Lawyers for Liberty said the anti- fake news law would be ‘ the death knell for freedom of speech in Malaysia’.
“Lawyers for Liberty is extremely concerned with the tabling in Parliament today of the Anti- Fake News Bill 2018. The Bill has far reaching implications for democracy and human rights, and should it be passed, it will be the death knell for freedom of speech and the press in Malaysia.”
“The Bill is an overbroad piece of legislation that exaggerates the problem of ‘ fake news’. It criminalises ‘ fake news’ as defined in the Bill to include any content ‘ which is or are wholly or partly false.’ It is an extremely vague Bill: it does not clearly define the malicious falsehood required for the offence, the severity of the ‘ fake news’ required before attracting criminal culpability, or the defences that are open to persons accused of publishing ‘ fake news’.
“The Bill is extremely open- ended and raises serious questions on how the implementing authorities like the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission ( MCMC) and the AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers will decide what amounts to ‘ true’ or ‘ false’ news,” the statement said when calling for the Bill to be discarded in its entirety.
“If the government is truly serious about tackling ‘ fake news’, it should withdraw the Bill and send it back for genuine consultations with all stakeholders or set up a bipartisan parliamentary select committee in order to come up with proper mechanisms that address the ‘ fake news’ problem while respecting our democratic rights,” the statement said.
Parti Rakyat Sarawak ( PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Masing said fake news are actually lies.
“The freedom of speech does not mean freedom to lie or freedom to slander our neighbours at will.
“The question we should ask is who decides whether news are fake or not - to me its the Court, not the govt of the day,” added Masing who is Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation.