Defamation Revealed

Freedom with Responsibility

(Source: United Nations)

The freedom of speech or expression is one of the many basic human rights outlined by the United Nations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 19 of the Declaration states that ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers’ (Universal 1998).

The traditional means utilised by people to express their thoughts have been the media. The advent of the Internet, however, has created a novel and perhaps a freer medium for people to express their thoughts.

Some might even go to the extent of saying that the time has at last come for absolute freedom of speech. Nevertheless, freedom of speech or any form of freedom is never absolute. And it is an error to conclude that the Internet is an unregulated platform for one to say whatever they want.

What Mr Najib Says

(Source: Bernama)

The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, was reported by The Star (8 May 2008, p.3) saying that although the Government has no plans to put shackles around bloggers and Internet users, edicts vis-à-vis libel, sedition and defamation still exists. He said ‘“Just because you operate in cyberspace does not mean that you are absolved from having to comply with the nation’s laws,”’ (The Star).

(Source: Wikipedia)

Mr Najib said this in reference to Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, editor of Malaysia Today, who was apprehended under the Sedition Act for an article posted on his site that implicated Mr Najib and his wife to the murder of a Mongolian woman.

The Photomontage

Another case where someone posted something defamatory in nature in reference to Mr Najib was when Tian Chua, a member of the Opposition parry, posted a photomontage of Mr Najib, Miss Altantuya Shaariibuu (the Mongolian woman) and Abdul Razak Baginda.

(Source: Tian Chua)

The photomontage, posted over his blog (tianchua.net), depicted the three of them having a dinner at a European restaurant. He posted this with the allegation that Mr Najib knew Miss Shaariibuu prior to her murder.

According to Sims (2003, p.53), ‘language and visuals are powerful tools of communications.’ Therefore, the utilisation of the photomontage and the texts following it by Tian Chua fortifies his allegation, despite being untrue.

A reader, who is not familiar with photomontages or the magic of Photoshop, would actually fall into the trap made by Tian Chua. Sims (2003, p.53) also asserted that a writer should ‘avoid creating false impressions that make readers think that conditions exist when they don’t.’

Communications and Multimedia Act 1998

In fact, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 of Malaysia states that:

(1) A person who — … (b) initiates a communication using any applications service … with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person at any number or electronic address, commits an offence.’ (Msc.com.my 2004).

It is true contents provided by the Internet, or the alternative media to be precise, are information one would not usually find published by the main stream media. And it is also true that some of them have been proven to be true.

However, it is immoral and unethical to post articles which may defame a person. Moreover, it is unscrupulous to publish something which is untrue or merely conjectural in nature.

Not only that, the existing laws pertaining to sedition and defamation must be abided by bloggers and Internet users alike.


References

Msc.com.my 2004, Section 233. Improper use of network facilities or network service, etc., viewed 7 June 2008, < http://www.msc.com.my/cyberlaws/act_communications.asp>.

Sims, BR 2003, Technical Communication for Readers and Writers, 2nd edn, Houghton Mifflin Company, USA.

The Star 2008, ‘Bloggers not immune to the law, says Najib’, 8 May, p.3.

UN.org, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, viewed 8 June 2008, < http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html>.