PUTRAJAYA, Feb 6 — The government welcomes and respects the Federal Court’s ruling that the terms “offensive” and “annoy” under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) are valid and constitutional.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, who is also Madani Government spokesperson, said that the decision was made unanimously by the panel.
“This morning, there was a Federal Court decision regarding a case brought by activist Heidy Quah, in which the Federal Court unanimously ruled that the words ‘offensive’ and ‘annoy’ under Section 233 of Act 588 are valid and constitutional.
“The Cabinet accepts and respects the Federal Court’s decision,” he said during his weekly press conference here today.
The Federal Court today reinstated the words “offensive” and “annoy” into the provisions of Section 233(1)(a) of Act 588 after deciding that neither term contradicts the Federal Constitution.
The section in question classifies any online communication that is obscene, indecent, false, threatening, or offensive with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person as a criminal offence.
A five-member panel led by Chief Judge of Malaya Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh made the landmark ruling after partially allowing the government’s bid to set aside a previous Court of Appeal decision.
The appellate court earlier ruled that the two words under the act were unconstitutional and void.
Fahmi said the Communications Ministry had amended Act 588 in 2024 to ensure the act is not misused.
“The amendments made set a higher standard; it is no longer just (simply) offensive, but grossly offensive, accompanied by six very clear descriptions defining what constitutes something as offensive or grossly offensive.
“We believe that with these amendments, God willing, Section 233 of this act will be more difficult — or at least not so easy — to misuse,” he said.
Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that the words “offensive” and “annoy” in Section 233 were unconstitutional and struck them after allowing an appeal by Quah to set aside a 2023 High Court decision to dismiss her suit.
In July 2021, Quah, 31, was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with making offensive statements via a Facebook post.
In 2022, she was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) after the court found the charge under Section 233(1)(a) to be defective.
