Saifuddin slammed for U-turn on Printing Presses and Publications Act

Journalist groups are upset at the home minister for going back on his promise to repeal the legislation.

(FMT) – Several journalist groups have criticised home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for backtracking on Pakatan Harapan’s pledge to review and repeal “draconian Acts” such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984.

Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) executive director Wathshlah Naidu said Putrajaya’s decision to retain the law seems to be a recurring practice among elected governments who backtracked on their election pledges for their own benefit.

She demanded Putrajaya explain the sort of threats to national security and peace that would require the law to be retained.

“They (the government) have to provide the information as it is our right to know,” she told FMT.

In his written reply to Dewan Negara, Saifuddin had said that the PPPA and the Sedition Act 1948 were still needed to preserve public peace and security.

Wathshlah disagreed with the minister’s justification, noting that both laws were draconian in nature and often vaguely implemented.

In the past, she said, the laws were often used to curtail freedom of expression rather than preserving public security and peace, adding that the law governing printing and publication gave wide powers to the authorities.

“Despite the various pledges and promises, including during the 14th general elections in 2018, to repeal or amend these laws, they remain as they are useful tools to silence critics or those who do not conform to the norm.

“We have seen it being used against those who are critical of the government or royalty, or those who produced lesbian, gay and transgender (LGBT) content,” said Wathshlah.

Meanwhile, Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) said there were other laws, such as the Penal Code, that could be used to preserve national peace and security.

The group pointed out that suppressing information from the public by using draconian laws would only promote disinformation, which in turn could fuel public unrest.

It reiterated its call for a repeal or review of the PPPA, particularly the requirement for a permit to “print, import, publish, sell, circulate or distribute, or offer to publish, sell, circulate or distribute, any newspaper printed in Malaysia or Singapore.”

PPPA also grants the home minister the power to suspend any publication or prevent its importation if the minister is satisfied that it contains any “article, caricature, photograph, report, notes, writing, sound, music, statement or any other thing which is likely to be prejudicial to public order, morality, security, or which is likely to alarm public opinion, or which is likely to be contrary to any law or is otherwise prejudicial or is likely to be prejudicial to public interest or national interest.”

“We believe that retaining those provisions will not be in line with an ongoing commitment to set up a Malaysian Media Council towards self-regulation of the media,” Geramm said.

Meanwhile, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretary-general Teh Athira Yusof said that PH, being a coalition that champions free speech, should stick to its promise to review and repeal the PPPA.

“Is the Act still relevant to maintain public order as claimed by the home minister? At the moment social media content is rife with false and racially inclined content by irresponsible groups,” Athira said.

She called upon the unity government to engage with the media stakeholders and to provide more freedom to the local media to responsibly and ethically report and publish news.