DAP Iskandar Puteri parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang stressed today that the proposal for media practitioners to draft a new Anti-Fake News Act (AFN Act) was merely his personal view.

It is not the stand of Pakatan Harapan to draft its own version of the AFN Act, Lim said at a press conference.

"Whether that view will be accepted by the cabinet, you have to ask Prime Minister Dr Mahathir (Mohamad)," he said when asked to elaborate on his stand for a new AFN Act, despite Pakatan Harapan having pledged to abolish the existing law.

Lim denied that he made a "U-turn" on the anti-fake news law.

"I fully agree that we should repeal the AFN Act 2018 because it is not meant to fight fake news. It is meant to institutionalise and ensure that former prime minister Najib Razak's 1MDB scandal is not exposed," he said.

"The whole purpose of the AFN Act was to make the 1MDB (scandal) fake news and therefore, if you expose 1MDB, you are guilty of a crime under the Act," Lim added.

There is a need to fight fake news that circulates in the social media, and even in the print media, and to study if the existing laws enough to curb fake news, he said.

Media outlets, Bar should look into it

He suggested that media outlets, the Bar Council and civil society should look into the matter.

"An example of fake news, false information or lies after 14th general election was the piece by Awang Selamat published in Mingguan Malaysia last week, in which he wrote that 'DAP will do away with royalty'," Lim said.

Harapan lawmakers had argued that the existing laws were enough to deal with fake news during the debate session on it in Parliament, when the BN government sought to pass the bill two months ago.

At today's press conference, Lim acknowledged that there was a lacking of laws in dealing with fake news.

"I don't think it is really adequate, otherwise I wouldn't be a victim of fake news for the last few decades.

"I was virtually regarded as a traitor until May 9 (and now) I am regarded as a decent desirable character," he said.

However, Lim agreed that such law should not be used as a political tool against the detractors.