Free speech in jeopardy, CPJ tells Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 (AFP)

US-based media watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists, accused Malaysia of intimidating the local media and urged it to retract threats to close five newspapers.

In a letter to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the group's executive director Ann Cooper said Malaysia's use of licensing regulations to intimidate local media was a violation of press freedom.

"It severely restricts the Malaysian public's ability to evaluate important issues facing the country," she said.

Cooper also urged Mahathir to repeal the 1984 Printing Press and Publications Act, under which publishing permits must be renewed annually.

"Malaysia's few pro-opposition publications provide a necessary counterbalance to your country's government-controlled mainstream press.

"In the absence of such alternative voices, Malaysia cannot be called a democratic state," she added.

Cooper said the home ministry, in a letter dated December 24, accused the bi-weekly Harakah, the newspaper of the opposition Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS), of ignoring the terms of its publishing license by selling to non-party members.

The clampdown was in retaliation against Harakah for its critical coverage of the arrest and trial of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim last year, she said.

Cooper said the pro-opposition fortnightly Detik also received a show-cause notice from the home ministry asking management to state reasons why its publishing permits should not be revoked.

"Detik allegedly broke the terms of its license by failing to inform the ministry of its new chief editor's appointment," she said, adding that the delay in renewing its licence had caused it to miss three issues since December.

Cooper said the ministry had also warned two monthlies, Wasilah and Tamadun, they could face sanctions if they did not respect the conditions of their licences.

Wasilah did not publish its full name -- Al Wasilah -- as stipulated in the permit while Tamadun was accused of publishing material that "could cause hatred among the people towards the government."

The independent weekly tabloid Eksklusif received a warning soon after the November 29 general election which accused it of "spreading rumours."

Cooper said the CPJ joins another media watchdog, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, to press Malaysia to retract its threats against the publications and to ensure that they may continue to publish freely.

A Home Ministry official allayed fears of a possible ban, saying that the government had not given any orders to close down the publications.

"Until now, there is no directive telling us about the ban. We confiscated Harakah (in December) because it was being sold to the public," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Harakah's circulation soared last year to some 300,000 copies.

The mainstream English-language and Malay-language press is solidly pro-government, although opposition statements are carried.

 

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