Amended Evidence Act maintained

Published: Thursday August 16, 2012 MYT 12:49:00 PM
Updated: Thursday August 16, 2012 MYT 1:09:21 PM

Rais: Evidence Act to be maintained

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

(Online breaking news from URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/16/nation/20120816124831&sec=nation)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet decided at its meeting on Wednesday to maintain the recently-passed Evidence Act 1950, said Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

He said the Cabinet discussed the issue exhaustively and decided not to make any changes because Parliament was represented by the ruling party and the opposition had debated on it.

"Once it is officially passed, to do something now is an after thought," he said after launching the Merdeka Taxi Advertisement and delivery of Raya cards in Kg Desa Pahlawan on Thursday.

Rais said he would leave to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri to further explain the matter.

The amendment to Section 114A was one of two made to the Act, and which were gazetted in July, receiving various reactions from Internet users.

A campaign was mounted against the Act by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) with its banner titled 'Stop 114A' appearing on Facebook and downloaded by Internet users in the country.

The development caught the attention of the Prime Minister, now in Mecca attending the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Extraordinary Summit, and he immediately asked the Cabinet to discuss the issue, through his Twitter account Tuesday.

Friday August 17, 2012

Amended Act maintained

By LOH FOON FONG and EILEEN NG newsdesk@thestar.com.my

(From URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/17/nation/11871052&sec=nation)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided to maintain the recently-passed Evidence Act 1950, says Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

He said the Prime Minister had asked the Cabinet to discuss the issue and the Cabinet did so on Wednesday.

“The Cabinet concluded that it was a fair decision as it was brought to Parliament and was debated for four hours by the Opposition as well as the Government,” he said after launching the Merdeka Taxi Advertisement and Raya cards delivery in Kg Desa Pahlawan yesterday.

Rais said that once Parliament had debated it and had officially passed the Bill and gazetted it as law, “to say now to do something else is a political afterthought and not based on the legality of it”.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak tweeted and asked the Cabinet to discuss the issue following objections made over the Internet on the amendment to Section 114A of the Act, one of two made to the Act, which were gazetted in July.

Rais said it was hoped that the Cabinet’s stance would be accepted.

“The provision of the Act should not be doubted or feared because it is based on a presumption of fact and not a presumption of guilt. The presumption of fact is common under the rule of law such as those found in the Sedition Act, Dangerous Drug Act and Contracts Act,” he said.

Anyone who is subject to the charge under Section 114A will have the right to rebut in the court of law and it is up to the court to justify what is to be done, he said.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said the Government needed to assure the public that Section 114A of the Act would not be abused.

He said there should be clear guidelines on how it planned to enforce Section 114A as well as dos and don’ts.

“The guidelines should also include how innocent victims would not be punished and what other safety features could be put in place (to protect users),” he said after chairing the MCA central committee meeting yesterday.

In defending the clause, Dr Chua said it was meant to prevent abuse of the Internet by unscrupulous people, especially since cybercrimes were getting more common.

He also ticked off the Opposition for “political dishonesty”, saying they should have voiced their objection during the debate in Parliament and requested for a division of vote.

“It was debated and passed in Parliament without calling for block voting. In other words, they (the Opposition) went along with it,” he said.

Friday August 17, 2012

Bar Council hopes PM will step in

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

(From URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/17/nation/11872553&sec=nation)
 
PETALING JAYA: The Bar Council is still hopeful the Cabinet may change its mind about accepting a controversial amendment to the Evidence Act when the Prime Minister chairs its next meeting after his return from his trip abroad.

Its chairman Lim Chee Wee said that although Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim might be right in saying that the presumption under Section 114A of the Evidence Act was “not uncommon”, this was the first time that it would be applied so widely.

“This is the first occasion that such a presumption applies so widely and in a sphere of human activity and open to manipulation and hacking by others.

“Contrast this to the presumption of being in physical possession of drugs leading to trafficking if it exceeds a prescribed quantity.

“Section 114A (of the Evidence Act) has no equivalent in other jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada, Britain and the United States,” he said in an e-mail reply here yesterday.

Section 114A presumes publication and ownership of offending materials posted online if they are made using someone’s identity or device.

Lim also urged concerned Parliamentarians to move a private member’s bill on the matter although Section 114A had become law after being passed and gazetted.

There must also be adequate public consultation on law reform so that the Prime Minister and the Cabinet would not end up being on the back foot without knowing in advance what the concerns of the people are, he said.

The Centre for Independent Journalism executive officer Masjaliza Hamzah said the Cabinet’s decision went against the support that Netizens had given for the amendment to be withdrawn.

She said the centre had received 117,000 views on its website about the Internet Blackout Day on Aug 14.

“We still want the Government to withdraw the amendment,” she said, adding that current laws were adequate in addressing defamation and sedition.