Malaysia’s Federal Court on Wednesday dismissed the Malaysian Bar’s bid to appeal a government emergency proclamation addressing fake news amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bar Council had raised 27 constitutional questions regarding the law’s validity; however, the court determined that the bar did not meet the threshold requirement under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act. This threshold requirement formed the basis for the Federal Court’s decision to deny the Bar Council’s request for leave to appeal.
The decision was delivered online by a three-member bench: Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang and Datuk Nordin Hassan, according to local media reports. The proclamation, enacted by former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, aimed to combat what the government referred to as “fake news” related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and remained in effect from January 12, 2021, until August 1, 2021. The ordinance stipulated fines up to RM 100,000 or imprisonment for up to three years for violations.
Upon its introduction, the Bar Council and several human rights organizations voiced strong objections to the emergency ordinance. Bar Council President Salim Bashir criticized the measure, arguing it would undermine the constitutionally protected principle of freedom of expression and silence dissent. He also raised concerns over the extensive powers granted to police and the potential degradation of natural justice and fair trial processes under the ordinance. A Senior Fellow at the Singaporean Institute of International Affairs, Dr. Oh Ei Sun, pointed to the ambiguous definition of fake news within the ordinance as another issue confounding its opponents, as discussed in statements.
Although the Malaysian government initially justified the emergency proclamation as necessary to update the existing Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and counter misinformation, it faced controversy for reinstating provisions reminiscent of the repealed Anti-Fake News Act from 2019.
Following the Federal Court’s decision, lawyer Abdul Rashid Ismail, representing the Malaysian Bar, stated that their originating summons filed in 2021 would now proceed to be heard by Malaysia’s High Court, with a hearing scheduled for June 24, as reported by local news outlets.
For a detailed report on the judicial ruling, see the coverage by JURIST.