Two words reinstated in Act
Apex court rules ‘offensive’ and ‘annoy’ not unconstitutionalPUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has reinstated the words “offensive” and “annoy” in Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998, ruling that the terms are not unconstitutional. The other judges on the panel were Federal Court Justices P. Nallini, Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali and Collin Lawrence Sequerah. “In other words, Section 233(1)(a) targets communications that fall outside the purview of the right to freedom of speech and expression. Quah, who was present in court, said she was grateful that the Federal Court had acknowledged that the prosecution against her was “wrong and misplaced”. On Aug 19, 2025, the Court of Appeal allowed her appeal, striking out the words “annoy” and “offensive” from the provision.
Source: The Star February 07, 2026 07:28 UTC
