COMMENT | The Parliament passed the anti-fake news law on April 2, just in time for the 14th general elections on May 9. It wasn’t the most controversial law to have gone through the BN-dominated legislature, as the National Security Council Act passed in 2016 gives wide powers to the government to declare a state of emergency.

But surely the Anti-Fake News Act is one of the many designed with clear targets in mind -dissenters and critics, and just about anyone who dares to verbalise any thoughts or opinions that challenge the establishment.

The introduction of the law, which is now gazetted, will raise fears among journalists, bloggers, politicians and netizens who speak out on social media. A maximum six-year jail term replaced the 10 years initially penned in, while the term “knowingly” in creating and spreading false news now reads “maliciously”.

The change was presented as a compromise from the government following strong criticism, but it did little to placate concerns that the law is essentially problematic as it violates fundamental principles of freedom of expression. Besides, one cannot help but wonder if the “compromise” was a deliberate strategy to demonstrate a responsive government that should be voted back in.

The road to this haphazard but possibly shrewdly crafted law has been paved with a series of cosmetic reforms under caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak since he took office in 2009. While some laws like the Internal Security Act (ISA) were repealed, others introduced still contain draconian provisions...