Two international press groups today called on Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to immediately drop charges against the editor of PAS-owned newspaper Harakah , Zulkifli Sulong, and the owner of printing firm Syarikat Prema, Chia Lim Thye.

The Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance, a coalition of journalists in the region, expressed fears that the arrest of Zulkifli and Chia is an attempt by Mahathir to retaliate against critical voices in the alternative media and to staunch the flow of free ideas reaching the Malaysian public.

"Malaysia's strict licensing of publications is already an affront to the concept of a free press and is at odds with the more liberal attitudes toward the press fostered in the region's democratic countries," said Seapa chairman Kavi Chongkittavorn.

Joining Seapa in condemning the arrests is New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. In a letter to Mahathir, CPJ stressed that it viewed the arrests of Zulkifli and Chia as yet another assault on the fundamental principles of press freedom.

"The prosecution of Zulkifli and Chia would send a message of intolerance that would surely chill the climate for independent journalism in Malaysia," said CPJ executive director Ann K. Cooper. She added that the arrests yesterday could signal the start of a broad crackdown against those who questioned the policies and practices of Mahathir's government.

Zulkifli and Chia were yesterday arrested and charged with sedition for publishing an article allegedly written by KeADILan deputy president Chandra Muzaffar on Aug 2 last year. The article criticised the government's handling of the ongoing sodomy trial of sacked deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Cooper said that, along with most democratic governments and international press organisations, it believed journalists should never face imprisonment for carrying out their professional duties.

In its letter, which was also sent to Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and 28 other international journalists and press freedom groups, CPJ also urged the government to end its intimidation and harassment against Harakah and four other pro-opposition publications, Detik , Wasilah , Tamadun and Eksklusif .

The organisation had earlier, on Jan 10, sent a letter to Mahathir expressing its concern over threats made by the Home Ministry to shut down these publications.

The letter also criticised the government's use of licensing regulations to intimidate local media.

"This action clearly violates international standards of press freedom and severely restricts the Malaysian public's ability to evaluate important issues facing the country," it said.

CPJ is an NGO founded in 1981 to monitor abuses against the press and to promote press freedom around the world.