Putrajaya (The Star/ANN) - The controversial Evidence Act amendment will be explained further by the attorney-general, said Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
"If explained properly, I believe right-thinking people will know why the amendment was tabled in Parliament and approved," he told reporters at the Cabinet's Hari Raya open house in Seri Perdana yesterday.
"If there still are fears, laws can also be tweaked, amended and abolished, but don't get emotional about it," he said, referring to Section 114(a) of the Evidence Act which shifts the burden of proof to Internet users.
The amendment gazetted and enforced last month presumes publication and ownership of offending items posted on the Internet if they are made using a person's identity or devices.
Internet users were up in arms over the amendment gazetted and enforced end of last month, which they claimed can be easily abused to sabotage and malign them.
The Centre for Independent Journalism also coordinated the Internet Blackout Day on August 14 as part of the Stop 114A campaign, which saw various bloggers and website operators putting up black banners and pop-ups to protest against the amendment.
This led to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak tweeting from Mecca several days ago that he has directed the Cabinet to discuss the amendment in their weekly meeting, then chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.
However, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim said amendments to the Act would be maintained.
Hishammuddin also warned that discussions on the amendment could "override" the political transformation programme which has seen numerous security laws such as the Internal Security Act being reviewed or abolished completely.
"I don't want one particular issue to cloud the whole programme when it can be decided rationally by people concerned," he said.
"This is one of the difficulties in trying to grasp something new to us such as the cyberspace.
"There are many laws where the presumption is reversed (to the accused) but people are looking at this as one issue that is emotional and political," he said.
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