PUTRAJAYA, March 1 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has refuted allegations that his ministry will amend the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 to rein in Malaysian online media.
He admitted there have been discussions about the Act, but said they involved aspects to boost the value of compounds of infractions or breaches of the existing Act.
“Amendments to control online media are definitely not on our radar,” Saifuddin said at a press conference today, adding there have also been no such suggestions from any parties.
He also denied that his ministry was opposed to the setting up of the Media Council, as reported by the media today.
“I was shocked when I heard about this issue, and the Home Ministry (KDN) secretary-general (Datuk Ruji Ubi) and I have seen and checked which parts we disagree with; it is not correct,” he said.
Saifuddin added that KDN has no objection on the council’s establishment, which is set to be tabled during the Parliament session in June.
In a separate development, the minister said the rise in underage rape cases due to weaknesses and failure of civil law is false and that it is also not caused by unimplemented Syariah enactments.
He was refuting a recent statement by Sik MP Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman during the ongoing Dewan Rakyat session, who claimed underage rape cases were on the rise due to the failure of existing laws.
“The Syariah Criminal Code was crafted in Kelantan, which has the highest number of such cases, with 98 per cent of its residents being Malay Muslims.
“Such cases in Kelantan, Kedah, and Terengganu have risen while they have dropped in Penang. I am comparing data from 2022 and 2023, and the offenders are from the low-economic category, the B40 group,” Saifuddin said.
He said the statement was based on an excerpt of a previous briefing given to him by Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain.
“Now is not the time to find fault as it is our shared responsibility to tackle this crime,” Saifuddin said.
— Bernama
