KUALA LUMPUR – A lawyer’s attempt to initiate judicial review proceedings against the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) over restrictions on a Facebook post has been dismissed by the Penang High Court.
The court ruled that the removal of Shamsher Singh Thind’s May 2024 Facebook post was a decision made by the platform itself, not MCMC, and thus could not be subjected to judicial review, according to Free Malaysia Today.
It further noted that social media platforms retain the authority to moderate content, even when regulators like MCMC request action.
Shamsher had sought to overturn an administrative request from MCMC that resulted in the post being blocked from view by Malaysian users. He argued that the move infringed upon his freedom of speech and called on the court to declare MCMC’s actions illegal while ordering the regulator to withdraw its “directive” to Facebook.
In delivering his decision, Justice Anand Ponnudurai stated that MCMC’s request did not amount to a “decision” that could be reviewed by the court. He clarified that the final call to remove the content lay with Facebook.
“The regulator’s request was an administrative act and not legally enforceable,” Anand said, adding that Shamsher had failed to present an arguable case for judicial review.
The judge also pointed out that any legal recourse would be directed at Facebook and possibly MCMC through civil courts, rather than via judicial review.
In written submissions, the Attorney-General’s Chambers urged the court to dismiss the application, arguing that MCMC’s administrative request was “neither susceptible nor amenable to judicial review.”
The court declined to award costs in the case.
Shamsher was represented by lawyers A. Srimurugan and J. Gunamalar, while federal counsel Aliza Jamaluddin appeared for the attorney-general.
The case stems from an incident in June last year, when Shamsher alleged that MCMC had blocked his Facebook post about Asia Mobiliti Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti).
The post questioned Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching’s involvement in defending Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh against allegations of nepotism in the Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) programme linked to Asia Mobiliti, a company associated with Yeoh’s husband, Ramachandran Muniandy.
In the post, Shamsher asked: “Are you using a government agency like MCMC to close the mouths of those who criticise your friends in your party and cabinet?”
The ruling reinforces the principle that social media platforms have the ultimate say in content moderation decisions, even when prompted by regulatory bodies. – January 23, 2025