Freedom of expression had suffered a major setback in Malaysia as the government had used nationwide emergency and anti-fake news ordinance to stifle dissidents amid political unrest, asserted Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram).

"The nationwide emergency declared to curb the Covid-19 pandemic was seen as a political move by the then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin to suspend Parliament when his parliamentary support was on the brink of collapse," said executive director Sevan Doraisamy.

"Thus, throughout much of the year, the government managed to govern without any parliamentary scrutiny from Jan 12 to Aug 1," he said during the launch...