Gov T To Take Offensive Annoys Ruling To Federal Court

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PARLIAMENT | Putrajaya intends to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling declaring two words under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 - “offensive” and “annoys” - as unconstitutional.
Confirming that he was informed of the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ (AGC) plan to appeal the ruling, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil (Harapan-Lembah Pantai) clarified that the words have been refined under amendments brought under his leadership.
“Regarding the Court of Appeal’s decision, I was informed that the AGC will be filing an appeal to the Federal Court,” the minister said during his winding-up speech on the 13th Malaysia Plan in the Dewan Rakyat today.
“The earlier proposal (on amendments to Section 233 of the CMA) was more draconian compared to what we eventually refined, passed, and brought to this house.
“What we have now is far better than the proposal that Perikatan Nasional, the previous administration, tried to put forward,” he added.
He also highlighted that under the amended provision, Section 233 criminalises “grossly offensive” content while clearly specifying several aspects that are not considered an offence.
The minister noted that he will monitor and follow the appeal process while leaving the matter to the AGC.
Attorney-General’s ChambersThe appellate court delivered its verdict yesterday in allowing an appeal by activist Heidy Quah, who challenged the validity of the impugned words in Section 233 of the CMA.
A three-member panel chaired by judge Lee Swee Heng, alongside judges Hashim Hamzah and Azman Abdullah, ruled that including the words “annoy” and “offensive” in Section 233 of the Act was not permissible, was disproportionate, and amounted to a prohibition of free speech.
As the CMA was amended in December last year, the ruling only applies to the pre-amendment version of the law.
However, the ruling does apply prospectively to ongoing court cases where charges were filed under the pre-amendment law.
The detailed 54-page decision is accessible below.
- Mkini

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