Free speech no licence to create havoc: Abdul Karim
KUCHING: Freedom of speech does not mean one can cross the line and create disharmony among the people, said Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Hamzah. The Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister said Sarawak values its preserved racial and religious harmony, and should therefore not be disturbed. “Personally, I see that Sarawak is ‘open’ unless […]
Robert F. Kennedy Jr sues Google, YouTube, alleging censorship
NEW YORK: Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr is suing YouTube and its parent company, Google, for moderating content he posts online, reported German news agency (dpa). The 69-year-old lawyer filed the suit against the internet giants in a Delaware court late Wednesday. His lawsuit claims his freedom of speech has been violated and alleges […]
The culture of lawlessness
Lawless are they that make their wills their law. – William Shakespeare (The Two Gentlemen of Verona) The culture of lawlessness is the bane of elected government actors in the role of ‘robbinghoods’ engaging in unstoppable, uncontrollable and unspeakable illegal activities under colour of law. The voters are in a quandary because they were directly […]
Report truthfully, Wan J tells media
KUCHING: Media practitioners must be truthful in their news reports to push the boundaries of media freedom, and netizens should exercise their freedom of speech and expression responsibly. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said freedom ensued when society was more mature and stakeholders became […]
A marketplace of ideas
Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. — Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., former Associate Justice of US Supreme Court Being a rationale for freedom of expression, debate and discourse, the marketplace of ideas is a perpetually robust laboratory where mankind’s philosophical and technological expectations are translated into form and […]
Casting a new light on freedom of speech
BY DORGE RAJAH Book Title: Why Societies Need DissentISBN: 9780674017689Author: Cass R. SunsteinPublisher: Harvard University PressPublication Year: 2005Price: RM97.20 Censorship, then, is what the law of free speech is fundamentally designed to prevent. — Professor Cass R. Suntein Dissent and opinions are loosely related. It is easier to conform to the majority so as not […]
Media, contempt and freedom of speech
I am … for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents. –Thomas Jefferson, third US President Media practitioners like myself have always been mindful of the swords […]
Of law and justice
Justice that love gives is a surrender; justice that law gives is a punishment. – Mohandas K Gandhi, lawyer, and Indian freedom fighter “Law and justice are two distant cousins who are not on speaking terms,” said the character of Marlon Brando in the 1989 movie ‘A Dry White Season’, showcasing apartheid in South Africa. […]
