NGOs 'horrified' by PPPA proposal
Published: Jan 31, 2011 5:35 PM | Updated: Jan 31, 2011 6:28 PM
Citing the "brutal" use of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) in shackling the print media, 21 NGOs have decried the proposal to bring the online media within its draconian purview.
Extending its scope to online content will 'end the vigour of our cyber-space and may radicalise dissent'.
Citing the "brutal" use of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) in shackling the print media, 21 NGOs have decried the proposal to bring the online media within its draconian purview.
“We strongly protest any attempt to enlarge the scope of the PPPA and reiterate our calls for the abolition of this law and the Sedition Act, as well as other overly restrictive laws that have no place in the modern, democratic society that Malaysia aspires to be,” they said in a joint media statement today.
“It is horrifying to think that its drastic provisions may be applied to Internet publications, spreading the chilling effect online.”
Citing the numerous books banned annually under the PPPA as a yardstick, they expressed concern that online text-content and multimedia materials may face the same fate by being labelled 'undesirable publications'.
More so, the group warned that enlarging the scope of the highly unpopular Act would result in more and more Facebook and Twitter users being prosecuted for spreading 'false news'.
It also expressed fears that the annual licences, now only required of the print media, would be forced on online news portals, as was done by Communist China.
In China, restrictive law
s once governing only print publications have expanded to sites on the Internet, spreading the tentacles of government control to once independent online sites.
The timing of the move, claimed the group, indicated political machinations at work, as snap elections are widely believed to be in the offing.
“The aim is obvious - to rein in the last frontier of free media. Online dissent was credited as a contributing factor to the incumbent federal government's poorest result in four decades in the 2008 general election.”
Indeed, the group theorised, the federal government appeared to be taking a leaf from Singapore, where the government led by the People's Action Party has intensified its harassment and regulation of online media ahead of polls this year.
‘Defend last frontier’
It believes that the axis of the threat against the Internet emanates from the cross-ministerial group set up to ‘monitor’ the online landscape.
Home Minister
Hishammuddin Hussein, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz and Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail are working on the changes, but this is claimed to be at an early stage.
Also worrying the NGOs is the absence of checks and balances in the PPPA and the stealth with which the home mnistry has moved on the amendment.
“The biggest (worry over lack of transparency) is the finality of the minister's decision... the lack of public consultation on the decision to amend the PPPA shows that they are likely to be problematic, yet the government obviously intends to bulldoze its way through,” their statement said.
They called on ci
vil society to defend their last frontier for freedom of expression, by making their voices heard in the remaining free space, or to take it to the ballot box.
“To impose the PPPA online will end the vigour of our cyberspace and may radicalise dissent,” warned the group.
The joint statement was initiated by press freedom advocacy groups Centre for Independent Journalism Malaysia, Charter 2000-Aliran, Writers Alliance for Media Independence and 1 Muted Malaysia, and endorsed by 17 other civil society groups.
“We strongly protest any attempt to enlarge the scope of the PPPA and reiterate our calls for the abolition of this law and the Sedition Act, as well as other overly restrictive laws that have no place in the modern, democratic society that Malaysia aspires to be,” they said in a joint media statement today.“It is horrifying to think that its drastic provisions may be applied to Internet publications, spreading the chilling effect online.”
Citing the numerous books banned annually under the PPPA as a yardstick, they expressed concern that online text-content and multimedia materials may face the same fate by being labelled 'undesirable publications'.
More so, the group warned that enlarging the scope of the highly unpopular Act would result in more and more Facebook and Twitter users being prosecuted for spreading 'false news'.
It also expressed fears that the annual licences, now only required of the print media, would be forced on online news portals, as was done by Communist China.
In China, restrictive law
s once governing only print publications have expanded to sites on the Internet, spreading the tentacles of government control to once independent online sites. The timing of the move, claimed the group, indicated political machinations at work, as snap elections are widely believed to be in the offing.
“The aim is obvious - to rein in the last frontier of free media. Online dissent was credited as a contributing factor to the incumbent federal government's poorest result in four decades in the 2008 general election.”
Indeed, the group theorised, the federal government appeared to be taking a leaf from Singapore, where the government led by the People's Action Party has intensified its harassment and regulation of online media ahead of polls this year.
‘Defend last frontier’
It believes that the axis of the threat against the Internet emanates from the cross-ministerial group set up to ‘monitor’ the online landscape.
Home Minister
Hishammuddin Hussein, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz and Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail are working on the changes, but this is claimed to be at an early stage.Also worrying the NGOs is the absence of checks and balances in the PPPA and the stealth with which the home mnistry has moved on the amendment.
“The biggest (worry over lack of transparency) is the finality of the minister's decision... the lack of public consultation on the decision to amend the PPPA shows that they are likely to be problematic, yet the government obviously intends to bulldoze its way through,” their statement said.
They called on ci
vil society to defend their last frontier for freedom of expression, by making their voices heard in the remaining free space, or to take it to the ballot box.“To impose the PPPA online will end the vigour of our cyberspace and may radicalise dissent,” warned the group.
The joint statement was initiated by press freedom advocacy groups Centre for Independent Journalism Malaysia, Charter 2000-Aliran, Writers Alliance for Media Independence and 1 Muted Malaysia, and endorsed by 17 other civil society groups.
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