March 29 hearing of review against Malaysiakini contempt ruling
The Federal Court has set March 29 to hear Malaysiakini’s bid to review its decision to find the online news portal guilty of contempt over five readers’ comments.
The media organisation’s counsel confirmed the matter today and said it will be conducted via Zoom.
Previously, the Federal Court set...
The Federal Court has set March 29 to hear Malaysiakini’s bid to review its decision to find the online news portal guilty of contempt over five readers’ comments.
The media organisation’s counsel confirmed the matter today and said it will be conducted via Zoom.
Previously, the Federal Court set Oct 12 last year to hear the review application.
However, due to the then rearranging of cases before the apex court, that hearing date was vacated.
In May last year, Malaysiakini's legal team filed the review application.
In its application, the online news portal applied for the contempt conviction to be set aside so that the case could be re-heard before the Federal Court.
“The majority of the Federal Court, in coming to its decision on Feb 19, 2021, dealt with certain issues and/or matters without providing the applicant (Malaysiakini) an opportunity to be heard on the same.
“This was a breach of the rules of natural justice.
“The majority decision contravenes Section 98(2) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” the motion states.
Section 98(2) of the act stipulates that compliance with a registered voluntary industry code shall be a defence against any prosecution, action or proceeding of any nature.
Majority 6-1
The apex court judges who made the majority 6-1 ruling were Court of Appeal president Rohana Yusof, Chief Judge of the High Court of Malaya Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Abdul Rahman Sebli.
The lone dissenting decision was from Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan, who held that Malaysiakini was not in contempt over the readers’ comments.
The bench, in its finding, meted out an RM500,000 fine on Malaysiakini, far higher than the RM200,000 sought by the Attorney General’s Chambers.
However, through a fundraising campaign, the news portal was able to raise the amount and more in one day.
Part of the excess fund from this crowdfunding campaign will be used for the present application.
The conviction made international headlines, raising concerns from civil society organisations, politicians, and diplomats over the effect of the decision on press freedom in Malaysia.
Lawyers and journalist groups have also expressed worries about how newsrooms are now expected to police readers’ comments, possibly leading to public discourse being curtailed.
Related reports:
Malaysiakini fined RM500,000 for contempt of court
Malaysiakini exceeds RM500k fundraising target for hefty court fine
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