A SLAPP in the face for FDI, trade and growth
As Malaysia ends its Asean chairmanship, international observers are scrutinising the country more, and often they do not see good news behind the political and economic wins.
Amid continued global economic headwinds, the Madani government has pushed hard to attract foreign investment and deliver record trade to support economic growth.
Unfortunately, the hard work of ministers and their teams may be wiped out by the growing misuse of Malaysia as a centre for international and cross-jurisdictional litigation through what are known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP actions, which restrict freedom of speech.
SLAPP actions are baseless, abusive lawsuits aimed at intimidating, harassing and silencing critics. They are often used by governments to silence policy dissent but are also increasingly used by other organisations to silence critics of products, services or management failure.
The aim is to repress people rather than to win damages. They do this by…
