FREEDOM OF SPEECH / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION


FREEDOM OF SPEECH / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship and/or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used [United Nations, 1966, 1976]. The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR recognizes the right to freedom of speech as "the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression". Furthermore freedom of speech is recognized in European, inter-American and African regional human rights law [United Nations, 1966, 1967]. Freedom of speech, or the freedom of expression, is recognized in international and regional human rights law. The right is enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights [Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold, 2005; Kumar, Ambika, 2006].

In Islamic ethics freedom of speech was first declared in the Rashidun period by the caliph Umar in the 7th century. In the Abbasid Caliphate period, freedom of speech was also declared by al-Hashimi (a cousin of Caliph al-Ma'mun) in a letter to one of the religious opponents he was attempting to convert through reason.

According to George Makdisi and Hugh Goddard, "the idea of academic freedom" in universities was "modelled on Islamic custom" as practiced in the medieval Madrasah system from the 9th century. Islamic influence was "certainly discernible in the foundation of the first deliberately-planned university" in Europe [Boisard, Marcel A., 1980].

* Selected REFERENCES / Sources:

Amnesty International: Annual Reports: URLhttp://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/index.html Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold. (2005). Freedom of Expression: The Essentials of Human Rights. United Publishers. Boisard, Marcel A. (July 1980), "On the Probable Influence of Islam on Western Public and International Law", International Journal of Middle East Studies 11 (4): 429–50. Goddard, Hugh. (2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Kumar, Ambika. (2006). ‘Using Courts to Enforce the Free Speech Provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Published by Chicago Journal of International Law. Summer 2006. URLhttp://www.allbusiness.com/corporate-governance/4082846-1.html United Nations: ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16th December 1966: Entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49. URLhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm (United Nations) Wikipedia. (2010). ‘Freedom of Speech.’ Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. URLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_expression

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26 February 2016

Msian Communications & Multimedia Commission needs to Explains the Reasons for TMI Block !


Source:
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/explain-reasons-tmi-block-says-033613755.html


Explain reasons for TMI block, says group

The Malaysian Insider
February 26, 2016
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has a duty to explain to The Malaysian Insider why access to the news portal is being blocked, the Centre for a Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) said today.
The group advocating moderation and good governance said merely stating that the portal could be in breach of Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act does not answer how content in the news site could be "obscene, indecent, menacing or offensive" with the intent to "annoy, abuse, threaten or harass".
"The least MCMC could have done is to specify the article in contention, who the aggrieved party is, and why this warranted the drastic and rare move to restrict access to the site.
"Unless articles in The Malaysian Insider, or any other websites, contain seditious content, calls to topple the government by way of violence, pornography or any other elements deemed genuinely detrimental to national security, there should be no reason to block online content," Cenbet said in a statement.
It said that in a healthy democracy, a free press acts as a check-and-balance on the government and is a platform for ideas to flourish, adding that those aggrieved by media reports have the right of reply and the option to take legal action.
It said blocking TMI through administrative measures was also tantamount to issuing veiled threats to other media companies, adding that this went against the government's pledge to ensure a free and responsible press.
Cenbet said the block was the latest in a series of actions against the media, which included the three-month suspension of The Edge and The Edge Financial Daily last year, the detention of key personnel from The Edge and The Malaysian Insider, and charging cartoonist Zunar for sedition in 2015.
"This does not bode well for Malaysia, whose press freedom ranking has been slipping over the years.
"In 2014, it is ranked 147 in the World Press Freedom Index, down two placing from the year before, faring worse than Myanmar (ranked 144) and Zimbabwe (ranked 131)," it said. – February 26, 2016.


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