KUALA LUMPUR: It is an offence to record or livestream the police carrying out arrests or raids, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said.
He said action could be taken against those filming an arrest or raid, under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public officer from carrying out their duties or disrupting investigations.
Hamzah's parliamentary written reply to Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) echoed what was said by the ministry in 2020 when student activist Wong Yan Ke was arrested for trying to record a police search.
He also said sharing such incidents was also a violation under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) for disturbing others.
On whether police could seize or look through someone's phone, Hamzah said the force could if the phone belongs to someone suspected to be involved in crimes under the Penal Code, Section 233 of the CMA, the Sedition Act, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Anti Human Trafficking Act, or the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act.
He added that anyone recording the police could have their phones searched or seized.
Hamzah said while the budget for body cameras for on-duty police officers had been approved, the purchases were still being reviewed by the ministry's procurement division.
The body cameras were supposed to have been procured and put in use in 2021.