Hasten reform of Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act

1. We are glad that the new government decided not to pursue the case against Heidy Quah. It was reported yesterday that human rights activist, Heidy Quah was to be charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA). The government however made a sharp u-turn at the last minute and decided not to pursue the case.

2. This decision, we hope, foretells the government’s commitment in not weaponising repressive laws to silence critics and curtail our freedom of expression and speech. Human rights activists, such as Heidy Quah, should not have been investigated and intimidated for speaking out and critiquing government action.

3. The broad scope of Section 233 of the CMA allows it to be widely used against human rights defenders and has become a tool of intimidation and harassment by State apparatus in the recent years. Last year alone we documented 114 cases where Section 233 of the CMA was used to investigate netizens and human rights defenders for various reasons. FOE Report 2022 can be accessed here

4. The government must always be open to scrutiny and constructive criticism in fulfilling its mandate. In this regard, we call upon Fahmi Fadzil as the new minister of Communications and Digital to hasten reforms with regards to the CMA, and other laws which are used to silence critics, specifically human rights defenders.

5. We need a State that lives up to the hopes of the Rakyat for an unencumbered freedom of expression and speech, especially when it comes to holding the government accountable.

15 February 2023
Wathshlah Naidu
CIJ Executive Director

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