COMMENT | Let’s start by calling out the “fake news” ordinance for what it is – an opportunistic attempt by the embattled Perikatan Nasional government to control the public narrative.

The Emergency (Essential Powers) (No 2) Ordinance 2021, gazetted with no debate in Parliament due to the emergency, grants arbitrary and wide powers to the authorities to take action against anyone publishing “fake news” relating to Covid-19 or the proclamation of emergency.

Much has been said about the dangers of this law. These include the wide and arbitrary definition of what constitutes “fake news”, the abrogation of the Evidence Act thereby denying accused persons of a fair trial, the heavy-handed punishments, and the far-reaching powers which include issuing directions for the preservation and disclosure of stored traffic data.

The government claims this ordinance is necessary to ‘tackle misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic’...