Rang undang-undang berita palsu: Mengapa ia perlu ditentang

Perdana Menteri Najib Razak

Kami percaya bahawa rang undang-undang berita palsu yang diusulkan oleh pentadbiran BN di Parlimen menjelang pilihan raya umum adalah suatu undang-undang yang keras dan mesti ditentang.

Definisi berita palsu yang terlampau luas telah melebarkan lagi definisi tradisi berita untuk meliputi segala jenis mesej yang jauh melebihi sebarang niat baik disebalik rang undang-undang ini.

Melalui rang undang-undang ini, definisi tunggal sesuatu kebenaran ditentukan oleh pentadbiran Najib. Semua berita yang bercanggah dengan cerita mereka akan dikategorikan sebagai palsu. Ia sama seperti kerajaan mempunyai satu ‘Kementerian Kebenaran’, ciri normal untuk mana-mana diktator di atas planet ini.

Kami mengesyaki bahawa rang undang-undang ini didorong oleh hasrat pentadbiran negara untuk menyembunyikan kebenaran disebalik skandal-skandal seperti 1MDB, Felda, Scorpene dan Altantuya. Idea di sebalik rang undang-undang ini adalah untuk menjadikannya lebih sukar untuk memastikan pemerintah bertanggungjawab terhadap skandal-skandal tersebut.

Penyokong rang undang-undang ini jelas sekali berharap rang undang-undang seperti ini dapat menundukkan rakyat kepada budaya ketakutan dan dari situ, rakyat akan takut untuk berkongsi pemikiran mereka secara terbuka berkenaan isu-isu kepentingan awam. Mereka berharap ucapan-ucapan dalam ceramah akan menjadi lebih berwaspada dan ahli politik pembangkang akan lebih berhati-hati dalam menyampaikan ceramah mereka.

Mereka berharap para wartawan, blogger dan pengulas akan lebih berhati-hati apabila mengupas isu-isu berkaitan kepentingan awam. Selain itu, mereka juga berharap rakyat akan lebih takut dalam berkongsi mesej, video dan imej kritikal di media sosial dan apps mesej.

Bukan itu sahaja, mereka juga berharap rang undang-undang ini dapat membendung satira dan parodi – yang pada definisinya, mempersendakan dengan meggunakan bahan yang sebahagiannya ‘palsu’ untuk tujuan lawak jenaka.

Klausa terhadap mereka yang menyalurkan bantuan kewangan terhadap pelaku kesalahan berita palsu juga membimbangkan. Ini bermakna sesiapa yang menyumbang untuk mengumpul dana bagi membantu membayar denda atau ganti rugi juga dipertanggungjawabkan. Rang undang-undang ini juga boleh digunakan untuk mencari mereka yang membayar untuk melanggan atau mengiklan di portal berita atau akhbar online.

Mereka yang menyokong rang undang-undang tersebut berkemungkinan berharap definisi luas berita palsu dan hukuman yang berat – denda setengah juta ringgit atau 10 tahun penjara – akan menakutkan rakyat dan sekaligus mengekang rakyat daripada menyatakan perbezaan pendapat mereka. Inilah yang dilakukan pihak berkuasa dengan undang-undang keras seperti ISA yang digunakan kononnya untuk memerangi ancaman komunis tetapi hakikatnya ia telah digunakan untuk menundukkan rakyat dan mewujudkan suasana ketakutan untuk mereka.

Melihat kepada majoriti BN dan kehadiran ahli parlimen, rang undang-undang tersebut kemungkinan akan diluluskan di Parlimen.

Namun rakyat Malaysia jangan berasa terancam oleh rang undang-undang ini. Mereka mesti tentang rang undang-undang ini setiap langkah dalam perjalanannya. Walaupun rang undang-undang ini diluluskan, kita mesti berkempen tanpa henti agar ianya dimansuhkan sama seperti apa yang kita buat untuk pemansuhan ISA.

Kita mesti berikrar untuk memberi kepada mereka yang menyokong rang undang-undang ini – dan juga mereka yang mempunyai kecenderungan kuku besi pada masa akan datang – suata pengajaran tegas dalam pilihan raya umum akan datang yang mereka tidak akan lupa.


ENGLISH VERSION

We believe that the anti-fake news bill that the ruling BN administration is trying to ram through Parliament ahead of the general election is a draconian bit of legislation that must be opposed.

The overly broad definition of fake news extends the traditional definition of news to cover all sorts of other messages in a way that goes beyond any good intention of the bill. In fact, it will make victims out of anyone who steps beyond a moving line.

The bill would make the Najib administration the sole definer of what constitutes truth. Everything else that contradicts their narrative would be simply fake. It is as good as the government having a Ministry of Truth (or its equivalent), a normal characteristic of any dictatorship on the planet.

We suspect the motive behind the bill is propelled by the administration’s desire to conceal uncomfortable truths such as the lingering 1MDB, Felda, Scorpene and Altantuya scandals. The idea behind the bill is to make it more difficult to hold the powers that be accountable for such scandals.

The proponents of the bill obviously hope that the people will succumb to a culture of fear, that they will be too afraid to share their thoughts with others on public interest issues. They hope we will be mentally imprisoned. They hope that speeches in political ceramah in the coming general election will become more sanitised, that opposition politicians will become overcautious in their delivery.

They hope that journalists, bloggers and commentators would become more circumspect when writing on public interest issues. They hope that public will grow more fearful of sharing critical messages, videos and images on social media and instant messaging apps.

They hope that the bill will spell the death knell for satire and parody – for the very definition of such work is that it is at least partly ‘false’.

A clause against those who provide financial assistance to those who commit a ‘fake news’ offence is also worrying. It could mean that those who contribute to crowd-sourcing or fundraising campaigns to help pay fines or damages may also be held liable. It could be used to go after those who pay to subscribe or advertise in news portals or online dailies.

Those pushing for the bill are probably hoping that the overly wide definition of fake news and the heavy penalties – a half a million ringgit fine and 10 years in the slammer – will intimidate the public and rein in those who express dissent. This is exactly what the authorities did with the now defunct and draconian ISA, which was used under the pretext of combating the communist threat, but in reality also used to clamp down on dissent and create a climate of fear.

Given the BN majority and the presence of many unconscionable members of Parliament, the bill is likely to be rammed through Parliament.

But Malaysians must not be intimidated by this bill. We must oppose this draconian bill every step of the way. Even if the bill is passed, we must campaign tirelessly and ceaselessly for its repeal just as we did with the ISA.

We must also vow to teach those backing this bill – and others who may have similar authoritarian tendencies in the future – a decisive lesson at the polls they will never forget.

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Aliran executive committee
27 March 2018

Petition by

To: Perdana Menteri Najib Razak
From: [Your Name]

We believe that the anti-fake news bill that the ruling BN administration is trying to ram through Parliament ahead of the general election is a draconian bit of legislation that must be opposed.

The overly broad definition of fake news extends the traditional definition of news to cover all sorts of other messages in a way that goes beyond any good intention of the bill. In fact, it will make victims out of anyone who steps beyond a moving line.

The bill would make your administration the sole definer of what constitutes truth. Everything else that contradicts your narrative would be simply fake. It is as good as the government having a Ministry of Truth (or its equivalent), a normal characteristic of any dictatorship on the planet.

Drop the bill!