13 Mar 2021 / 16:50 H. KUANTAN: The Emergency (Essential Powers) (No. 2) Ordinance 2021, which came into effect yesterday, is not to curb media freedom and prevent any parties from criticising the government, stressed Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (pix). Instead, he said, it was implemented to tackle fake news on Covid-19 and the Proclamation of Emergency. “There are many criticisms towards this ordinance and I want to explain, those accusing the government of restricting press freedom, actually it isn’t at all because the ordinance refers to fake news regarding two issues only, namely Covid-19 and the emergency. “We will differentiate between criticism of the government and fake news. We want to take action on fake news. So, I hope everyone, including politicians, appreciate what we are doing... if they want to criticise the ministers and so on, it’s their right and we must be smart in our answers,” he said.