Bar Council President Steven Thiru was commenting on MCMC announcing the decision in its statement dated 25 February 2016, without giving any specific reason. “It appears that MCMC has taken action against TMI because the portal allegedly published matters that have caused confusion.MCMC has not identified the offending publication(s) by TMI that caused this purported confusion.”
Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak has reportedly said that TMI has been blocked as one of the articles published by it “… quoted a statement could cause confusion because it contradicts with official statements by MACC, noted Thiru. “They don’t mention who the source is. It could confuse the public,” the Bar Council quoted Salleh as saying.
Causing public confusion is not, and cannot be, an offence under Section 233 of the CMA, warned Thiru. “MCMC’s reliance on Section 233 for its action against TMI was therefore without any basis, and oppressive. “
“It’s quite puzzling that anyone could consider causing public confusion to be an offence at all. It was also rather demeaning and offensive to assume that Malaysians will be ‘confused’ merely as a result of contradictory statements in the press, or because the source of press statements was not disclosed.”
Moreover, he added, MCMC cannot invoke Section 263(2) of the CMA for the purpose of barring public access to websites on unjustifiable grounds. “As a responsible regulator, MCMC must always act in accordance with the law and must not arrogate to itself powers that have not been conferred on it by Parliament. The action taken by MCMC against TMI appears to be unsustainable in law.”
The recent and emerging pattern of MCMC’s reliance on the CMA to bar access to websites was alarming, continued the Bar Council President. “It’s seen as harassment and intimidation of the media, and targeting of contrary or dissenting voices in the public sphere.”
He referred to the whistleblower website, Sarawak Report, being blocked in July last year for allegedly publishing unverified information relating to the Prime Minister. “Other websites such as Medium, Outsyed the Box, Tabunginsider, Jinggo Photopages, Din Turtle, Asia Sentinel and Malaysia Chronicle have also been blocked.”
“The legality of MCMC’s action under the CMA in respect of these other websites also appears to be questionable.”
The right to information, or the right to know, is implicit in the guarantee of freedom of speech and expression that belongs to every citizen, as enshrined in Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution, stressed Thiru. “Indeed, a true democracy envisages a meaningful right to know. The blocking of access to websites was a serious curtailment of the right to know, as it thwarts the flow or dissemination of information, thoughts and ideas. This renders the constitutional guarantee in Article 10(1)(a) vacuous or meaningless.”