Kuala Lumpur:The High Court will first address the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) committal application against blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, known as Papagomo, before the inter-partes injunction hearing proceeds.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, MCMC's counsel, Datuk Selva Mookiah, confirmed that Judge Datuk Dr Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari ruled the committal application should be heard first. This decision was made following the acceptance of MCMC's preliminary objection, requiring Wan Azri to address the contempt before the injunction hearing. Both matters are scheduled for December 23.
The court has also extended the current ad interim injunction against Wan Muhammad Azri until December 23. The committal hearing will assess the contempt of court allegation, while the inter-partes hearing will focus on the injunction with both parties present.
On June 19, an ex parte interim injunction was granted to MCMC, preventing Wan Muhammad Azri from making allegedly defamatory statements against the commission and requiring him to stop spreading harmful online content via social media. The order further restricts him from using any social media, through existing or new accounts, to distribute false, misleading, or harmful content.
Despite this, on August 6, Wan Azri allegedly breached the injunction by using Facebook and/or YouTube to host a live session containing false and misleading content. As a result, MCMC sought the court's permission to begin committal proceedings against Wan Azri.
On October 6, the court granted MCMC the leave to initiate committal proceedings due to the alleged breach on August 6.
The legal issues began on May 27 when MCMC filed a suit alleging that Wan Muhammad Azri posted defamatory statements claiming the commission censored court reports related to Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil's case against him. MCMC stated that it had not participated in any censorship of reports concerning the High Court proceedings involving Fahmi and the defendant, asserting that the allegations were false and undermined public confidence in the commission.