Siena:The High Court will address the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) committal application against blogger Wan Muhammad Azri Wan Deris, known as Papagomo, before moving on to the inter-partes injunction hearing.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Judge Datuk Dr. Arik Sanusi Yeop Johari upheld MCMC's preliminary objection, deciding that the committal application should be prioritized. This decision requires Wan Azri to address the contempt charge before the injunction hearing can proceed. The court has scheduled both matters for December 23.

The court has also extended the current ad interim injunction against Wan Muhammad Azri until December 23. The committal hearing will focus on the contempt of court allegations, while the inter-partes hearing will consider the injunction with both parties present.

Previously, on June 19, the court issued an ex parte interim injunction preventing Wan Muhammad Azri from making allegedly defamatory statements against MCMC. The order required him to stop disseminating harmful online content through social media immediately. It prohibited him from using any social media platform to publish or distribute false or misleading content.

Despite this, Wan Azri allegedly used Facebook and/or YouTube on August 6 to publish a live session containing false and misleading content, violating the ad interim injunction dated July 6. Consequently, MCMC sought to initiate committal proceedings against him.

On October 6, the court granted MCMC leave to proceed with committal actions against Wan Azri for the alleged breach.

The MCMC's legal action originated on May 27 with allegations that Wan Muhammad Azri had posted defamatory statements on social media, accusing the commission of censoring court reports related to Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil’s case against him. The MCMC denied any involvement in censoring court-related reports and asserted that the defendant's claims were false and baseless, undermining public confidence in the commission.