Medium’s sitewide encryption confronts censorship in Malaysia
Blogging platform Medium is now blocked in Malaysia, apparently in an effort to censor an investigative news outlet critical of the government.
Crackdown intensifies in Malaysia on eve of summits
Malaysian authorities have brought new criminal charges against critics of the government and are showing no signs of easing this year’s intensifying crackdown on free expression.
Space for public debate and free speech is rapidly narrowing in Malaysia, says new report
“Prime Minister Najib Razak and the Malaysian government have repeatedly broken promises to revise laws that criminalize peaceful expression. Instead, Malaysia has gone on a binge of prosecutions of critics,” said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.
Malaysia: Sedition Act upheld in further blow to free expression
ARTICLE 19 is disappointed by Malaysia’s Federal Court decision that the colonial era Sedition Act is indeed constitutional. This is the second recent court decision which brings into question the judiciary’s ability to safeguard fundamental human rights, after the Court of Appeal found last week the criminalisation of peaceful assemblies to be constitutional.
Cartoonist Zunar targeted again under Malaysia’s Sedition Act
Political cartoonist Zunar announced Malaysian police had begun an investigation into his latest book. An online sales assistant on Zunar’s website has been called in for questioning under the Sedition Act.
Malaysia: Blocking websites to prevent protest violates international law
ARTICLE 19 calls on the Malaysian government to retract threats to block websites which promote or report on the upcoming “Bersih 4” protests. Furthermore, we call for a public commitment to abide by international obligations to respect the right to protest.
Malaysia doesn’t need another 20 years of copyright, says CEO of software firm
The extension of copyright duration offers nothing but additional costs and complications for Malaysian content creators and technology innovators who do not wish to see their creativity stifled by additional copyright barriers erected all around them.
Malaysia urged to lift suspension of “The Edge” newspaper immediately
CIJ condemns the three-month suspension of “The Edge Weekly” and “The Edge Financial Daily’s” publishing permits by the Home Ministry. It appears that “The Edge” has revealed information about alleged fraud involving billions of ringgit in a government-owned investment corporation.
With blocking of U.K. website, Malaysia drops the pretense of not censoring the Internet
This is the first time Malaysia has publicly acknowledged blocking a political website, and it is particularly notable because the case strikes at the heart of political corruption within the country.
Regulating social media not the answer to recent violence in Malaysia
CIJ is alarmed at yet another attempt to further control social media. Any further regulation risks unduly curbing freedom of expression while being ineffective in assisting to curb violent behaviour such as that seen at Low Yat Plaza.
Malaysian court convicts 9 transgender women
“The government needs to recognize that the freedom to express your gender is as fundamental as any other freedom,” said HRW after a Sharia (Islamic law) court in Malaysia has sentenced nine transgender women to fines, and two to one-month jail terms.
Ahead of cartoonist’s trial, NGOs call on Malaysian government to drop charges
Charged under the Sedition Act in Malaysia, internationally known political cartoonist Zunar could face 43 years in jail for a tweet.
Groups call for end to crackdown on free expression
Concerns include the use of Malaysia’s Sedition Act to suppress legitimate criticism of government and courts.
Malaysian cartoonist Zunar faces 43 years in prison over tweets
Political cartoonist Zunar has been charged in Kuala Lumpur with nine counts of sedition for tweets posted following a controversial court ruling. The tweets in question criticised a Federal Court decision, which upheld the conviction of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Arrest of Malaysian editors, publisher under Sedition Act “an assault on media freedom”
The recent arrests and the raid of a media outlet are part of a worrying trend of a decline in standards of freedom of expression in Malaysia.
Malaysian journalist threatened on social media after questioning government tactics
Threats of violence have been made against BFM 89.9 journalist Aisyah Tajuddin on social media, following the posting of a video in which she questioned the actions of the Kelantan state government in Malaysia.