The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement says an engineer who was sentenced to year's jail and a RM50,000 fine for online comments against the Perak sultan, is being made an example of by the BN government.
The Communications and Multimedia Act is being used to stifle free speech, said the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) on the sentencing of engineer Chan Hon Keong on Friday last week for insulting the Sultan of Perak (right).
"It is very obvious that Chan is being made an example of by the BN government to deter other Malaysians from expressing their criticisms online, not just of the Malay rulers but also BN," said its president Sharifuddin Abdul Latiff in a statement today.
Chan was charged under Section 233(1)(a) for "improper use of network facilities or service" by posting comments on a website regarding Perak's political crisis that allegedly insulted the sultan on a website on Feb 13, 2009.
The crisis saw the ousting of the Pakatan Rakyat-led government by BN after three assemblypersons had defected, culminating in Sultan Azlan Shah asking the then Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin to step down.
Chan was slapped with the maximum penalty of a year's jail, a RM50,000 fine, and another five months imprisonment if he does not pay the fine.
The Butterworth Sessions Court has allowed a stay in sentencing pending an appeal at the High Court, and released him on a RM14,000 bail.
Sharifuddin said Chan's sentencing was "most unjust" because he was being singled out for lese majesty, or the violation of a ruler's dignity, while "thousands" others had expressed outrage at the coup.
In addition, he pointed out that in 2008 when Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin refused to reappoint Idris Jusoh as Menteri Besar and appointed Ahmad Said instead, protests were held where Umno members were "extremely disrespectful" to the sultan, including the display of banners that called the Sultan ‘natang' (animal).
"Despite the public uproar over this insult, there was no charge of lese majesty brought against the perpetrators of this insult," he said.
However, he said lese majesty is an "outdated crime" that has no place in Malaysia and rulers must earn the people's respect by their conduct and by fulfilling their responsibilities.
"Ours is a democracy derived from the aspirations of participatory politics, and no longer a feudal state of old."
Sharifuddin also expressed concern on the recent amendments in the Evidence Act, which among others, assumes that a person had published an online posting if it came from his computer, internet connection, published or under his name or pseudonym, unless proven otherwise.
"A person may get maligned through impersonation and suffer the consequences..." he said.
Criticizing the Sultan is considered an act of treason, be careful what you say or do in cyberspace.
ReplyDeleteBeruntungkan jadi kerabat diraja. Tiada siapa yang boleh kritik atau tegur.
DeleteEven freedom of speech have its limits, be careful not to cross the line or we'll get into the same trouble as this engineer.
ReplyDeletejgnlah salah guna dunia cyber untuk menghina orang lain. lebih2 lagi Sultan.
ReplyDeleteTeknologi perlu digunakan dengan bermanfaat. ketahui batas berkomunikasi melalui ruang siber.
Deletekemudahan yang ada kadangkala disalahgunakan untuk kepentingan diri.
DeleteWalaupun sekarang ni era globalisasi, tiada batas sempadan dan kebebasan pun semakin ketara namun rakyat masih terikat dengan undang2.
ReplyDeleteAre the other countries impose the same act or regulation?
ReplyDeleteKebebasan pun perlu ikut undang2 yang telah ditetapkan
ReplyDeleteSiapa suruh cakap yang bukan-bukan mengenai Sultan Johor.
ReplyDeletetidak payah la cakap pasal kebebasan bersuara.. sedangkan pembangkang pun gagal mengamalkan kebebasan bersuara.. malah WIKISABAH juga menapis mana2 komen yang menyerang pemimpin2 SAPP.. jadi tidak payah la sebut pasal kebebasan bersuara..
ReplyDeleteDatuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim expressed support today for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s call for regulations to control the absolute freedom that exists on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteThe information, communications and culture minister told a press conference his ministry welcomed the former prime minister’s view and agreed that the “cyberworld should now be subjected to perusal by society”.
ReplyDeleteHe cited cheating, gambling, phising for particulars and spreading pornography on the Internet as criminal offences and “therefore to disregard this purely for sake of freedom on the Internet is not a true thing”.
ReplyDelete“The principle we must recognise is that the laws of the land must be respected,” he said after launching the 1 Malaysia Social Media Convention.
ReplyDelete“If the laws are enforced, it doesn’t mean that we are censoring the Internet,” he added.
ReplyDeleteRais said his ministry was “now busy working out ways how our society in Malaysia should be hardened for the sake of goodness and for lasting peace and prosperity”.
ReplyDelete“The value system of our country has been such we should always recognise it to be pivotal to develop the civilisation that we want.”
ReplyDeleteDr Mahathir told The New Sunday Times in an interview that countries should now enforce some form of regulatory control to block “filth” and punish those who corrupt the minds of Internet users.
ReplyDeleteDr Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years until 2003, had promised that Malaysia would never censor the Internet in any way as part of a pledge to draw investors to develop the Multimedia Super Corridor.
ReplyDeleteHe had repeated this stand last at the Third Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit in August last year, although he then suggested disciplinary action on some aspects of Net abuse.
ReplyDeletePrime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak voiced similar sentiments last year and vowed his administration would not resort to Internet censorship but would instead engage further with Malaysians when acknowledging that people now use social networking sites to express outrage.
ReplyDeleteSocial media, primarily Facebook and Twitter, has been partly credited with organising the Egyptian uprising that eventually led to the resignation of strongman Hosni Mubarak as president.
ReplyDeleteThe Egyptian government had briefly banned Twitter, a micro-blogging site, as a result of massive protests arranged via social networking sites.
ReplyDeleteThere have been two previous attempts by the government to implement filters similar to China’s “Green Dam” here. Both were met with vociferous protests by Internet users that forced the government to backtrack on the efforts.
ReplyDeleteGrowing Internet access and the ability of the opposition to disseminate information online has been cited as one of the factors for Barisan Nasional’s worst electoral effort in Election 2008.
ReplyDeleteSince then, the ruling coalition has been working to narrow the gap, including training “cyber troopers” and providing social media training to its members.
ReplyDelete