by ANIS HAZIM

THE Communications and Digital Ministry said that it will defend the constitutional right to freedom of speech as long as it does not slander or defame.

Minister Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil (picture) said freedom of speech should always be in accordance with Malaysian law.

“We do defend the right to freedom of speech, but if we look into the several laws, like Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for example, there are indeed limits to it,” Ahmad Fahmi told reporters after visiting the Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) on Dec 8, 2022.

Therefore, the Lembah Pantai MP said action will be taken to those who crossed the limits.

“We do not want people to misunderstand. We will defend the right to speak up, but do not slander or make baseless statements,” he said.

On Dec 7, Ahmad Fahmi announced that more than 1,000 videos were banned on TikTok after the 15th General Election (GE15) week.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) also contacted TikTok over videos on its platform which warned of a repeat of the May 13 race riots.

Meanwhile, Fahmi said that his ministry has reviewed several aspects of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998; however, nothing had been decided.

“Any announcement with regards to major changes or major announcements will come after Cabinet approval.

“In the meantime, we are not ready (to make any announcement) but we are currently reviewing (the Act),” he noted.

When asked regarding Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s claim that the coalition government of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) had committed the “biggest electoral fraud ever” in GE15, Fahmi said that he has not yet read the statement.

Muhyiddin’s claim came following PN’s victory at the state election of Padang Serai, Kedah, and Tioman, Pahang. He also said that the recent state polls indicated that the people are not enthusiastic about the PH-BN collaboration to form the federal government.