KUALA LUMPUR: The government will have to wait until Aug 16 for another chance to repeal the Anti-Fake News Act 2018.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said since the Anti-Fake News (Abolition) Bill 2018 was first passed at the Dewan Rakyat on Aug 16 last year and subsequently thrown out by the Dewan Negara, the government had to wait for a year before tabling the Bill again.
In a written response to a question from Nik Mohamad Abduh Aziz (PAS-Bachok), the prime minister said the bill could be re-tabled at the next Parliament session.
Nik Abduh had asked the prime minister to explain the government’s standpoint on the Anti-Fake News (Abolition) Bill 2018.
The Anti-Fake News Act 2018 was passed on April 2 last year and gazetted on April 11 when the Barisan Nasional was still in power.
It led to fierce criticisms from civil society and the opposition then.
There were fears that the new legislation would lead to the stifling of the freedom of the media and be used against the opposition.
Pakatan Harapan pledged to amend or repeal several legislation, including the Anti-Fake News Act, when it came into power.
The Bill to repeal the Act was first tabled on Aug 8 last year and was passed by the lower house just over a week later through a simple voice vote.
