ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship Defamation Laws: Used to Silence Dissenting Voices political party during the November 2022 election The government has used the defamation laws to expression”, including the SA 1948 and Section 233 silence opposition lawmakers, activists, journalists of CMA 1998.24 However, it was soon announced that and individuals criticising the regime. Reports the government has no plans to abolish the Sedition have surfaced in recent years of individuals being Act. In fact, between January 2022 and November investigated and prosecuted based on the defamation 2023, The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) laws for freely expressing themselves. On July 1, reported an increase of the number of investigations 2021, FreedomFilmFest organiser Anna Har and the and arrests under the Sedition Act from 15 in 2022 animator of “Chili Powder and Thinner” Amin Landak, to 31 incidents in 2023.25 Additionally, In the early were questioned by the police in connection with months of 2023, it was disclosed that 444 cases the release of a four-minute animation depicting had undergone investigation under Section 233 of Malaysian police officers torturing and abusing the CMA from 2020 to Jan. 23, 2023.26 individuals in custody. They were investigated under Sections 500 and 505(b) of the Criminal Code– concerning defamation and “statements conducing to public mischief” respectively–along with Section 233 Article 1(a) of the CMA, for improper use of network facilities.18 They were eventually released, but three computers, a modem, and a router as well as Landak’s personal computer were seized during the search.19 In July 2022, a nature activist was investigated under Section 500 and 500(b) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of CMA over a Twitter post allegedly insulting the Pahang regent.20 In June 2020, blogger Dian Abdullah was accused of criticising the King and ex-Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin through her blog post published in March 2020; aside from the Penal Code, Abdullah was additionally charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA.21 In December 2021, the court handed her a fine of MYR 10,000 ($2,400).22 But these laws do not apply exclusively to human beings. In fact, they were almost used in 2023 against Meta for violating the law on communications and multimedia, but the project was abandoned after meetings with the company.23 was a call for a review and repeal of “oppressive legislations that can be misused curtail freedom of Between March 2020 and February 2021, 66 cases were initiated under the Sedition Act and Section 233 of the CMA,27 with about 60 cases related to online activities. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, a significant increase in the use of oppressive legislation to silence dissenting opinions and expressions was recorded. The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) documented 140 incidents under Section 233 CMA and 19 under Sedition Act in 2021.28 In 2022, from January to November, 114 such incidents were documented.29 A report on the state of freedom of expression in Malaysia by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) that was released on Dec. 10 2023 found that Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act - which criminalises the improper use of network facilities or network services - has already been used 103 times this year up until November.30 However it is also noted that the 2023 data does not reflect investigations triggered by the 3R election task force and police statements during the elections.31 This is compared to the 114 times the law was used for the whole of 2022. According to the official statistics from the Home Minister, The Sedition Act and CMA: Another Political Weapons 367 investigations were opened under the sedition One of the key promises within the manifesto made by Act (CMA) the police conducted 692 investigations the current Prime minister, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s 158 act from 2018 to 2022, with only five cases tried in court. Under the Communications and Multimedia between January 2020 and June 2022.32 Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia