Dr M claims freedom of speech is now restricted

SHAH ALAM - Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has claimed that freedom of speech in the country is now limited only to those who support the government.

The Malay Proclamation (POM) Chairman stated that this situation contradicts the desires during the time when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was in the opposition.

"At present, statements that are historically accurate are considered as incitement by the print media. With the prohibition of 3Rs (religion, royal, and race), the people's voices are silenced.

"In the past, when the Prime Minister was outside the government, cries for reform were heard.

"Among the reforms demanded were freedom of speech and freedom of the print media," he said in a Facebook post today.

On June 29, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) former information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan alleged that the administration under Anwar's government restricted media freedom.

He claimed this following reports that two news portals, MalaysiaNow and Malaysia Today, could not be accessed due to it allegedly being blocked.

However, it was reported that the Communications and Digital (KKD) mministry had confirmed that no directive had been issued to block any news portal in the country.

Its Minister, Fahmi Fadzil, clarified that he took note of a news portal report that highlighted the 'mystery' scenario of being inaccessible to internet users.

Previously, the government also issued a final warning to anyone who attempted to go to extremes by playing up 3R issues.

Anwar, who is also the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Chairman stated that those who seek to sow the seeds of division and challenge the Constitution can no longer be tolerated.