Correction order issued to MalaysiaNow over article on drug courier's treatment

MHA points out five falsehoods, but the news website says it will defy Pofma order

- Ian Cheng

Malaysian news portal MalaysiaNow has been ordered to carry correction notices over false statements in a Nov 9 article concerning the treatment of Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, a drug courier who was executed on Oct 8.

The Pofma Office, which administers the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, was instructed by Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong to issue the correction direction to MalaysiaNow under Singapore's fake news law, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Nov 15.

Under the order, MalaysiaNow is required to carry correction notices alongside the article on its website, Facebook, X and LinkedIn posts.

MHA’s Nov 15 statement identified five broad falsehoods in the MalaysiaNow article.

The first false statement was that Pannir’s execution was carried out without regard for the rule of law, said MHA, noting that all prisoners awaiting capital punishment are afforded due legal process.

An execution will be scheduled only when such prisoners have exhausted all legal processes in relation to their conviction and sentence, and after the issue of clemency has been dealt with, as is the case with all such prisoners, including Pannir, said MHA.

It detailed the process from Pannir’s conviction and sentencing by the High Court on May 2, 2017, to Feb 9, 2018, when the Court of Appeal dismissed Pannir’s appeal against his conviction and sentence.

“He was accorded full due process under the law and represented by legal counsel throughout the trial and appeal,” said MHA.

The ministry said that following the dismissal of his appeal, Pannir was involved in 11 post-appeal applications between 2019 and 2025, seven of which were joint applications with other prisoners awaiting capital punishment. At the time of Pannir’s execution, all of these applications had concluded, the last of which was dismissed on Oct 7.