
[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) mengambil maklum dengan serius mengenai perkembagan terkini melibatkan Jabatan Peguam Negara dalam memfailkan permohonan untuk perintah larangan bersuara (gag order) dan perintah larangan (prohibitory order) untuk menghalang orang awam daripada membahaskan isu mengenai usul titah adendum bagi membenarkan bekas Perdana Menteri Najib Razak menjalani baki hukuman di bawah tahanan rumah.
Perintah larangan bersuara ini akan menyekat mana-mana pihak, termasuklah media daripada menerbitkan, menyiarkan atau menyebarkan apa-apa berita mengenai semakan kehakiman yang sedang dijalankan. Menurut timbalan ketua bahagian sivil di Jabatan Peguam, Shamsul Bolhassan, perintah larangan bersuara akan melindungi sensitiviti kes tersebut.
Langkah yang diambil kerajaan menimbulkan pertanyaan mengenai status kebebasan bersuara dan hak mendapatkan maklumat di Malaysia kerana kerajaan telah mengukuhkan budaya kerahsiaan serta mengehadkan keupayaan orang awam dalam mengakses maklumat.
Kesannya, wacana kritikal berkaitan kepentingan awam termasuk isu sensitif tidak dapat diadakan sekali gus mencerminkan rekod prestasi semasa kerajaan “Madani” yang mengekang kebebasan bersuara yang bertentangan dengan Artikel 10, Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Bahkan, Artikel 160 dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan menyatakan bahawa pihak berkuasa awam adalah termasuk agong. Secara tidak langsung, sebarang penelitian terhadap akauntabiliti yang dimiliki pihak berkuasa awam haruslah dibenarkan.
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Oleh itu, kerajaan harus menyegerakan penggubalan undang-undang hak mendapatkan maklumat tanpa sebarang penangguhan untuk memastikan kerajaan bersifat terbuka berdasarkan ketelusan dan pendedahan proaktif maklumat yang dipegang oleh pihak berkuasa awam.
Sebarang pengecualian terhadap pendedahan maklumat haruslah haruslah didasarkan pada prinsip hak asasi manusia iaitu perundangan (legality), keperluan (necessity) dan perkadaran (proportionality) di samping memenuhi ujian kepentingan awam dan ujian mudarat.
Dengan mengamalkan perkara tersebut, sebuah ekosistem maklumat dapat terbina berasaskan standard antarabangsa mengenai hak asasi manusia tanpa pengaruh politik atau perniagaan.
Prinsip ketelusan yang menjadi asas undang-undang hak mendapat maklumat haruslah dijadikan sebagai pintu masuk bagi kerajaan menangani persepsi negatif dalam kalangan orang awam serta meninggalkan amalan penapisan wacana kritikal. – CIJ
English version
CIJ deeply concerned by gag order on Najib’s alleged ‘royal addendum’
The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is deeply concerned about the recent action of the Attorney General’s Chambers in filing an application for a gag order and prohibitory order to prevent the public from discussing the alleged ‘royal addendum’, purportedly seeking to allow former Prime Minister Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
The gag order would prevent any party, including the media, from publishing, broadcasting or disseminating anything related to the ongoing judicial review. According to the deputy head of the civil division at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Shamsul Bolhassan, a gag order would protect the sensitive nature of the case.
This move by the government raises alarm about the state of freedom of expression and right to information in Malaysia. It perpetuates a culture of secrecy and serves to undermine the ability of all in Malaysia to access information held by public bodies and engage in critical discourse about issues that pertain to the public interest, even if deemed ‘sensitive’ in nature.
The gag order is reflective of the current track record of the “Madani” (civil and compassionate) government to suppress freedom of expression, a tenet that has been enshrined in Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
All public authorities – which, under Article 160 of the Federal Constitution, includes the king – should be open to heightened scrutiny and be held accountable for their actions.
This development demonstrates the urgent need for the government to adopt a progressive right-to-information legislation, with no further delays, to ensure an open government based on transparency and proactive disclosure of information held by public authorities.
Any exemption to the non-disclosure of information must be grounded in the international human rights principles of legality, necessity and proportionality, and meet the public interest and harm test.
Adopting such practices would create an information ecosystem which is based on international human rights standards without the involvement of political or business expediency.
The principle of transparency, which is fundamental to the right to information, should be seen as an entry point for the government to tackle the negative perception among the public and to move away from the track record of attempting to censor all discourse critical of its actions. – CIJ
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