Media Quote
19 August 2025
Responding to the Court of Appeal’s ruling today in favour of activist Heidy Quah, who challenged Section 233 of the Communications & Multimedia Act (CMA), Amnesty International Malaysia’s Interim Executive Director, Vilasini Vijandran, said:
“This ruling is a huge win for freedom of expression in Malaysia, with the Court of Appeal recognizing and reiterating the importance of protecting our constitutionally guaranteed rights. No one should live in fear of being persecuted for telling the truth, and today’s decision sends a clear signal that our voices matter.”
“Heidy Quah stood up not just for herself, but for every activist, journalist and ordinary Malaysian who dares to tell the truth. Her courage is a reminder that human rights defenders are the backbone of our democracy, and they must be protected, not punished,” said Vilasini Vijandran.
“The CMA has long been used to intimidate, silence and punish activists and human rights defenders but today’s ruling shows that Malaysia can move forward in the right direction. With this momentum, the Madani government must urgently take the next step to review and repeal Section 233 in its entirety, ensuring that Malaysia’s laws protect—and not punish—those who speak up against injustice,” said Vilasini Vijandran.
Background
The Court of Appeal today struck down the words “offensive” and “annoy” in Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA, ruling that criminalizing such subjective terms is unconstitutional. The panel held that these provisions lacked objective standards and risked criminalizing the truth, creating a chilling effect on public discourse.
The court made clear, however, that the decision is prospective and that it applies to ongoing and future cases, but not retroactively to past convictions.
Amnesty International Malaysia urges the government to immediately place a moratorium on the use of Section 233 pending its full review, drop all ongoing investigations and charges, release those imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, and move towards repealing this law once and for all.