The ordinance, which took effect under a state of emergency declared in January due to the coronavirus pandemic, has triggered backlash from media and rights groups in the country who fear the ordinance could be abused and lead to a crackdown on dissent.
he Malaysian government implemented an ordinance Friday that punishes those who publish false information related to COVID-19, about a year and half after the previous government scrapped a similar law.
The ordinance, which took effect under a state of emergency declared in January due to the coronavirus pandemic, has triggered backlash from media and rights groups in the country who fear the ordinance could be abused and lead to a crackdown on dissent.
The ordinance named Emergency (Essential Powers) (No.2) Ordinance 2021 was implemented at time when the parliament and national elections have been suspended under the state of emergency, which the government declared as it deemed the pandemic had reached a critical level.
The ordinance stipulates any person who "creates, offers, publishes, prints, distributes, circulates or disseminates any fake news" with the intent to "cause fear or alarm to the public," is liable to a maximum fine of 100,000 ringgit ($24,286), up to three years in jail or both, if convicted.
A similar law to the ordinance, the Anti-Fake News Act, was introduced by former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in 2018. But it was repealed in October 2019 by his successor, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, as part of his pledge for a more open and transparent government.
Reintroduction of the legislation under the state of emergency, bypassing parliamentary approval, has drawn harsh criticism from rights group and opposition lawmakers.
Wathshlah Naidu, executive director of the Center for Independent Journalism, Malaysia, called for an immediate repeal of the ordinance.
Naidu said her organization was "deeply shocked and appalled" by the new ordinance and wanted the government "to stop using the emergency proclamation to stifle any criticism of the current administration."
The term "fake news" is not clearly defined in the ordinance, Naidu said, claiming it could lead to an abuse of authority through arbitrary arrests, investigations and punitive actions against free speech.
"We anticipate further surveillance and invasions of our privacy, arbitrary censorships of critical and dissenting media reports and thus attacks on media freedom," she said.
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