COMMENT | Treading the thin line when commenting on court cases

COMMENT | This column is once again taking a walk, not on cobblestones but entering a minefield, on the issue of discussing or criticising judgments made in a court of law.

The boundaries are limited. Senior lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijar in a commentary on Sept 20 last year noted: “The Malaysiakini contempt prosecution case by the attorney-general has brought the realisation that you can be made criminally liable for criticising the judiciary.”

Recalling that Malaysiakini’s editor-in-chief was set free, but the portal was fined a hefty RM500,000 for carrying subscribers’ comments, which by any account were scurrilous.

“Essentially, it means...