The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) and the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) held a meeting with Minister of Communications YB Fahmi Fadzil and Deputy Minister YB Teo Nie Ching at the Minister’s Office yesterday.
The meeting, which was also attended by key officials from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), discussed key issues related to the government’s proposal to license social media and internet messaging platforms.
Bersih & CIJ expressed concerns about the current state of media freedom, particularly regarding this licensing issue, especially given the slow progress of reforms under the Madani government.
However, we do not deny the government’s role in ensuring that social media and internet messaging platforms are held accountable for any issues that affect public wellbeing and violate human rights principles.
Therefore, we stated our position as follows:
- The government must ensure that the development of the code of conduct is done inclusively, transparently, and in accordance with the principles of freedom of expression based on international standards, where any restrictions on expression must meet the principles of legitimacy, necessity, and proportionality.
- Ensure that the body responsible for monitoring compliance with the code of conduct is a multi-stakeholder entity to guarantee transparency in decision-making without political interference.
- At the same time, expedite the establishment of a Media Council or any platform that acts as a final arbiter in determining whether content on social media is appropriate or violates standards and may be subject to action.
- Any actions taken should not be driven by political motives to suppress political opponents, but rather focus on issues like data security, cyberbullying, online fraud, and Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM).
- We also call on the government to commit to abolishing draconian provisions such as Section 8A of the Printing Presses and Publications Act [Act 301], Sections 211 & 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act [Act 588], Section 505 of the Penal Code [Act 574] and Sedition Act [Act 15].
We express our appreciation to the Minister and the Ministry of Communications for their openness in holding this meeting.
We will continue to act as a check and balance to ensure the government stays on the right track and remains committed to the reform agenda.
Released by:
The Steering Committee of BERSIH