DEFAMATION (LIBEL) LAW IN MALAYSIA: AN OVERVIEW

Freedom of speech is fundamental towards the founding of a democratic country as distinctly expressed in Article 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution. However, there are restrictions to this right and freedom. Article 10(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution exempts or excludes defamation actions from this right by passing the Defamation Act 1957 to control and ensure this right and freedom of speech are exercised in accordance with law. This paper concentrates only on one element of defamation under the Defamation Act 1957 and Penal Code (Act 574); libel. Therefore, this paper will focus on the extent of the rights and freedom of speech, and how elements of libel plays a significant role in determining the restrictions of freedom of speech. The objectives of conducting this research are to examine the scope, concept and development of libel, and establish recommendations that could be used to enhance the libel law. This paper look into the matter from the Malaysian law perspective. Legal research and qualitative methods will be applied in this paper based on the legal materials; law reports, legal commentaries, judicial decisions, and opinions derived from scholars. The general observations is that, the countermeasure against the more complicated libel actions and at the same time to balance and integrate the relationship between libel laws and freedom of speech, should be taken into consideration in implementing the laws against defamation in our country.