The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) stands in solidarity with Kokila Annamalai Parvathi, a concerned citizen of Singapore who is facing censorship for voicing out her conscience.

On 5 October 2024, Kokila was pressured by authorities in Singapore to publish a correction notice under a Correction Direction of the POFMA (Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act) , after having posted her opinions on the execution of Azwan bin Bohari. The Minister for Law and Home Affairs of Singapore, K Shanmugam, has abused POFMA to censor her dissenting opinions on the legal process.

In other words, Kokila is being extorted for a “confession” denouncing her own conscience to the public as a mere “falsehood”. This basically leads to censorship against dissenting views, which only emboldens the establishment even more.

Since its enactment, the POFMA has been used by the Singaporean government to arbitrarily restrict the right to freedom of expression and information online, including shutting down views of anti-death penalty activists.

Freedom of expression, when rooted in conscience, truth, and good faith, serves an essential role in building and maintaining a healthy and inclusive democracy for all. Hence, PSM asserts our solidarity with Kokila Annamalai Parvathi in the face of intimidation from the authorities and pro-establishment media outlets. Kokila is well within her rights to defy the POFMA Correction Direction, since the latter is an overreach by the Minister meant only to silence opposing views.

PSM urges the Singaporean government to:

• Stop the intimidation of concerned citizens and activists by using the POFMA;
• Repeal the POFMA to protect freedom of expression;
• Stop all executions of death row prisoners and impose a moratorium on the death penalty.

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