Free speech in Malaysia under increasing threat, says global watchdog

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KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Global watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has claimed that the Malaysian authorities are resorting to criminal investigations increasingly to allegedly harass journalists, protest leaders and various other critics of the government.

In a report today, HRW said due to this, many are facing potential prosecution and have been subjected to police questioning about their work or speeches.

“Malaysia’s Penal Code, Sedition Act, Peaceful Assembly Act, and Communications and Multimedia Act all contain overboarding and vaguely worded provisions that allow the police to investigate or arrest people for a wide range of activities or speech that the government dislikes.


“Recent cases have targeted people for organising public protests, reporting on allegations of police abuse, drawing cartoons, and posting an ironic Spotify playlist.

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