00:00Today, in the People's Council, there will be two amendments to be passed.
00:07One is to amend the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act,
00:11and the other is to amend the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act.
00:16So, these two amendments will be discussed in depth at the National Assembly
00:22regarding the effects of the proposed amendments.
00:26For us, we have a lot of concerns regarding this matter.
00:29We hold on to the principle that there are regulations that need to be strengthened by the government,
00:36but the regulations should not be so rigid and restrictive
00:41and restrict the freedom of speech of the Malaysian people as a whole.
00:45So, we have a lot of concerns, which we will discuss in detail in a moment.
00:49But we know that the government will use their majority.
00:54We know that the government is not shy to practice the tyranny of the majority.
01:00We know that the government will use their majority to pass the amendments to the People's Council.
01:09But we, as members of the National Assembly,
01:12we will continue to speak up for the people,
01:15to voice our opinions,
01:17and ensure that the debate goes well, God willing.
01:21We will bring people's concerns about the restrictions on the freedom of speech
01:26and the freedom of media in our country.
01:28We will ensure that the government listens to our opinions.
01:32Even though we know that the government will use their majority to pass the amendments to the People's Council,
01:37we will ensure that the opposition from us to certain segments will be heard.
01:44In general, the RUU that will be held by the government in the parliament today
01:49will contain incidents of cyberbullying,
01:54scams, and child pornography.
01:59We agree with this.
02:01We do not object to this.
02:02We have even voiced this before, so that the relevant laws are enforced.
02:07But what we are concerned about is
02:10that these laws give full power to the minister to act
02:16on any communication,
02:20messages,
02:22that are interpreted as excessive,
02:25that can hurt any party.
02:27These are the laws that will be passed today.
02:31So we are concerned
02:33that the government today,
02:35especially the minister, will use these laws
02:38from a political point of view.
02:39He will restrict the freedom of speech
02:41to those who are not related to the government.
02:45Because in the laws that will be passed today,
02:50because the government has a majority,
02:52the minister and the government have full power
02:57to investigate,
02:59collect data,
03:00store data,
03:01any type of communication.
03:04Anyone who receives a negative comment,
03:08that is excessive,
03:09that hurts,
03:10that causes hatred,
03:12these things will be seen as restricting the freedom of speech.
03:18We agree
03:19that the comments given should not spread hatred,
03:23should not give negative communication.
03:25We agree.
03:26It does not mean that the opponents want to spread hatred.
03:29But who is going to define that hatred?
03:32What is the use of that negative communication?
03:36These laws are restricting,
03:38but it can be misused
03:42if someone wants to misuse power.
03:45That is our concern.
03:46We agree that these laws should be tightened,
03:49but not too tight
03:50that it hurts people's voice.
03:52So after this,
03:53anyone who wants to comment
03:55on Facebook,
03:56on TikTok,
03:57they cannot comment on these laws.
03:58They can take action,
03:59they can investigate,
04:00and they can direct any officers who are given power
04:04to go and arrest that person
04:06even though the warrant is a faulty warrant.
04:08Actually, there is a warrant
04:09that must be requested from the authorities.
04:12But in this law,
04:14the warrant can be used even though it is a faulty warrant.
04:17It is called a specific law.
04:19The power to go and investigate
04:21is no longer given to the inspector,
04:23but given to anyone who is given power by the minister.
04:27These are things that in our opinion
04:29can lead to misuse of power.
04:33Then it is also mentioned in section 46A,
04:36formalities.
04:38It means that the minister can give lessons
04:41to anyone
04:43that the minister wants
04:45without formalities.
04:47If he wants to give a media lesson,
04:49or a communication practitioner lesson,
04:51he can give it.
04:52So we are concerned
04:53that this weapon can be used by the government
04:55to compete with the election.
04:57He will suppress the opposition.
04:59He will suppress those who are against him.
05:01He will give space to those who agree with him.
05:04If this happens,
05:05in our opinion,
05:06it is not fair.
05:07This is a heavy burden.
05:08This is a barrier
05:09to the freedom of speech.
05:11We also received a lot of complaints
05:13from the media practitioners
05:15who are present today.
05:17NGOs related to the media out there
05:19who asked us to reject
05:21part of this law.
05:23We agree with part of it,
05:24but most of it
05:25can't be used by the ministry.
05:28So we mentioned this as one...
05:31Even though it hasn't been discussed yet,
05:33we mentioned it in the media
05:35so that all parties,
05:36including the government,
05:37can think in a balanced way.
05:39Put aside the importance of politics,
05:42the importance of certain groups.
05:44But is this what we want?
05:46A government that suppresses the freedom of speech,
05:49that suppresses people to give opinions.
05:52Can't this government
05:53accept an open view?
05:55The existing constitution can be adopted.
05:58Many leaders,
05:59even the PM,
06:00have been brought to court
06:01for various reasons
06:02because it is said
06:03that it doesn't comply with the law.
06:05So,
06:07what does the government want
06:09from this constitution?
06:10Does the government want to continue
06:11to suppress people
06:12who are guilty of the government?
06:14Those are the questions
06:15that arise
06:16due to the lack of
06:18details or evidence
06:19in the law
06:20that will be put forward this afternoon.
06:22So, that's our view.
06:24We will summarize it
06:26in our discussion this afternoon.
06:28We ask the members of parliament,
06:31especially the government,
06:32to think many times
06:34before supporting it blindly.
06:36It's not that the law is not needed,
06:38but the law should be fair,
06:40clear,
06:41and transparent
06:42to ensure justice for all.
06:45May peace be upon you.
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