HomeNewsBeritaBusinessLifestyleOpinionWorldSportsPropertyEducationCarzillaGalleryVideosAccelerator

Decision against Malaysiakini comes under fire

-

Many, including foreign missions, have deemed the Federal Court’s ruling as a challenge to press freedom.

0
Shares
Total Views: 1
Free Malaysia Today
While Mkini Dotcom was hit with a RM500,000 fine, its editor Steven Gan was found not guilty. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:
The Federal Court’s decision to impose a RM500,000 fine on Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd, the company which runs Malaysiakini, for contempt of court over comments by the news portal’s readers has not gone down well, with many taking to social media to criticise the sentence.

Even the foreign missions have weighed in. In a joint statement, British high commissioner Charles Hay and acting Canadian high commissioner Esther Van Nes expressed concern over the court’s verdict.

“Media freedom is of fundamental importance to the security, prosperity and wellbeing of all societies. People must be allowed to discuss and debate issues freely,” they said.

The US embassy, in a posting on Twitter, said freedom of expression, both for the press and the people, was fundamental for public discourse and democratic principles that support good governance.

Political analyst Bridget Welsh said on Twitter that the ruling would have negative repercussions for Malaysia in terms of freedom of all media platforms, adding that it would “further chill already cooling foreign investment”.

Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet expressed similar sentiments, saying the decision would have implications on all online news portals, as it meant they were liable for “allegedly contemptuous third party comments on its website.”

“Are news portals now gatekeepers on what is contemptuous/seditious? This may unintentionally curtail free speech and genuinely constructive comments,” he tweeted

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming tweeted: “Sad day for press freedom in the country… we stand in solidarity with Malaysiakini and all those who support press freedom.”

Phil Roberston, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said holding online media liable for readers’ comments would only force them to “choose between banning such comments, or over-censoring”.

He urged the Parliament to consider enacting laws to “preclude third-party liability for content and/or amend the laws that currently permit such liability”.

In a Facebook post, Klang MP Charles Santiago concurred, saying it was “a challenge to media freedom”. He said he would be contributing RM1,000 towards paying the fine.

Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd was fined RM500,000 after it was found guilty of scandalising the judiciary in publishing readers’ comments last year. It is now seeking funds from readers and supporters to pay the fine.

The fine was more than the RM200,000 proposed by senior federal counsel Suzana Atan, and the company has been given three days from Monday to settle the penalty.

Its editor-in-chief Steven Gan, however, was found not guilty of contempt.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.