KUALA LUMPUR: Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (pic) has proposed amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Bill to be renamed “Akta gam mulut rakyat”.
Syed Saddiq said the Bill, once dubbed regressive, was now being strengthened.
“This Bill previously oppressed them, and now they are the oppressors,” he said when debating amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act on Monday (Dec 9).
Syed Saddiq also questioned how many social media accounts were removed for supposedly hurting the government.
“They may say it’s hate speech, but is talking about the ringgit’s performance hate speech?
“And when they (government) are pressed, they say it’s not them but the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission instead.
“But even then, the commission reports to the minister,” he said.
He further questioned the definition of “grossly offensive” provided in the amendment, describing it as subjective and ambiguous.
“If your criticism hurts them, you may not only have your mouths shut but, even worse, land behind bars,” he said.
On Monday (Dec 2), Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil tabled the Communications and Multimedia (Amendments) Bill 2024 and the Communications and Multimedia Commission (Amendments) Bill 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat for their first reading.
The Bills propose amendments to 118 existing sections and the creation of 15 new ones to combat better the growing threat of online criminal activities, including sexual offences and the spread of false information.
The amendments are expected to be passed by the Dewan Rakyat before it adjourns on Dec 12.
