PARLIAMENT | An opposition lawmaker today questioned whether the government would have a monopoly on what is to be defined as fake news under a new law to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next week.

Sim Tze Tzin (PKR-Bayan Baru), who asked this, was referring to Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Jailani Johari’s statement yesterday that any 1MDB-related information which was unverified by the Malaysian authorities would be considered as fake news.

Sim said there was a long list of foreign media reports linking the 1MDB affair to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“All these news from overseas are by organisations with high credibility and long histories, but the government says these are all fake news.

“So, does the government have a monopoly on deciding what is fake news? Will the government decide this is fake news and this is real news?” asked Sim, who stood up to question de facto law minister Azalina Othman Said during her winding-up speech on the royal address.

Sim also reiterated calls from the opposition for Najib to take legal action against all the foreign media that had allegedly defamed him, if it was indeed true that they had published fake news.

Hanipa Maidin (Amanah-Sepang, photo) also mocked the government’s plans to table the anti-fake news law and said that Malaysia has a bigger problem when dealing with the truth.  

"Malaysians are not victims of fake news, we are victims of real news. 

“In our country, real news is seen as a threat,” Hanipa said, citing as an example the conviction of Rafizi Ramli (PKR-Pandan) under the Official Secrets Act 1972 for disseminating the auditor-general's report on 1MDB. 

“The truth is treated as something indefensible and people are arrested for telling the truth. 

"So I think there is no need for us to table this law on fake news,” he added.

Concerns 'premature'

Azalina, the first minister in the Prime Minister’s Department to wind-up, had earlier stated that the draft anti-fake news bill was approved by the cabinet yesterday.

"This bill is drafted taking into consideration the interest of the public... It also does not in any way restrict the people's right to freedom of speech as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. 

"At the same time, it also sends a clear message that the government will not tolerate any potential threat to national security," Azalina (photo) said.

She added that the bill had also received support from industry stakeholders, including Google, Twitter and Facebook, as well as the National Union of Journalists, through various consultation sessions.

In response to Sim and Hanipa, Azalina said the concerns they raised on the new law were “premature,” as it would be debated further next week when the bill is set to be tabled. 

“If you are mature, wait until this bill is tabled,” she said, before proceeding with other questions raised in relation to her portfolio. 

Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) then attempted to raise a point of order against Azalina’s purported refusal to answer the questions raised, and accused her of being afraid as it concerned allegations against Najib.

However, Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee said Azalina’s answer should be taken subjectively, and that she had a right to not give way to further questions.