Fahmi added that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was acting as a technical agency to assist the police in their probe, based on instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“I have been informed that Malaysiakini is a witness in this case, not the target of the investigation.
“I believe the laptop taken from Malaysiakini will be returned after the probe is complete,” Fahmi told reporters after the launch of the Artificial Intelligence Fact-Check Assistant chatbot to combat fake news.
Fahmi was asked to comment on the police questioning of Malaysiakini’s executive editor RK Anand and the seizure of his laptop after law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said’s aide Suraya Yaacob lodged a police report over an article quoting Khairy’s comments.
Yesterday, FMT reported an academic as saying that the police might have exceeded their authority in confiscating the laptop and demanding access to Malaysiakini’s backend.
Benjamin Loh of Taylor’s University described the police action as a “clear overreach of power”, as the case is being investigated under criminal defamation laws.
Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm), an activist group representing journalists, also condemned the authorities for their “unacceptable actions”.
Geramm spokesman Radzi Razak called for the police and MCMC to stop what he called “heavy-handed measures”.
In his podcast, Khairy alleged that the royal addendum related to former prime minister Najib Razak had caused a trust crisis within Umno, and implied that Azalina was involved in concealing the addendum.
Following the police report lodged by Suraya, the authorities launched a probe under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for the improper use of network facilities.
In instructing Malaysiakini to provide access to its backend, MCMC had warned that failure to comply would constitute an offence.
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