KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Sunday that an anti-fake news law brought by the previous administration will be given "proper" definition, making it clear to the media and the public what is fake. "Even though we support freedom of press and freedom of speech, there are limits," Mahathir said in a live telecast on state TV.Abolishing the anti-fake news law was one of the Mahathir's campaign promises, but his latest comments point to a re-defining of the controversial law, rather than removing it altogether. Germany approved a plan last year to fine social media networks if they fail to remove hateful postings.Malaysia already has an arsenal of laws, including a colonial-era Sedition Act, that have been used to clamp down on unfavourable news and social media posts.Malaysian PM barred his predecessor, Najib Razak, from going overseas on Saturday, saying there was enough evidence to investigate his links to a multi-billion-dollar scandal. Immigration authorities issued a travel ban on Najib and his wife just minutes after the ousted prime minister said they were leaving on a weeklong trip overseas to rest after his thumping electoral defeat.“It is true that I prevented Najib from leaving the country,” Mahathir said, adding that doing so had averted extradition problems later. “There is sufficient evidence that an investigation into certain things ... done by the former prime minister has to be done and, if necessary, the rule of law will apply,” he said.

Source: Economic Times May 13, 2018 17:53 UTC