After a three-month break, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) today resumed its investigation on Malaysiakini’s cow-head protest videos with two individuals summoned for questioning.

Malaysiakini's video editor Shufiyan Shukur and Jason Yong - a staff member from the website's server hosting company - were both interviewed by MCMC officials today at its headquarters in Cyberjaya.

NONE Yong, who was interviewed for the second time, told Malaysiakini that he was asked whether the supposedly 'provocative' videos were uploaded from the news portal's IP (Internet protocol) address.

Meanwhile, Shufiyan said he was quizzed on whose decision it was not to comply with MCMC’s request to remove the videos from Malaysiakini and YouTube.

“They wanted to know who had the final decision to keep the videos on Malaysiakini and YouTube and whether it was a management decision, and if the decision-making process would be the same if other agencies were to make requests on us.”

In September, a team of MCMC officers visited Malaysiakini on three occasions to investigate the two video clips published by website - one on the temple relocation protest in Section 27, Shah Alam, and the other on Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's press conference.

The videos cited were the 'Temple demo: Residents march with cow's head' and ' Hisham: Don't blame cow-head protesters' .

The MCMC officers interrogated a dozen of Malaysiakini staff members who were involved in the process of news gathering, editing and publishing two stories and videos related to the Aug 28 cow-head protest and the Sept 2 press conference by Hishammuddin.

Cow-head protesters charged

The news portal has been accused of contravening the Communication and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 by putting up the two video clips.

According to MCMC monitoring and enforcement division senior acting director Abdul Halim Ahman, the display of both videos on the news portal "is an offence under Section 211/233 of the CMA".

Under the Act, any individual found guilty of publishing content "which is indecent, obscene, false, menacing, or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person" is liable to a fine of up to RM50,000 or a jail sentence.

On Oct 21, 12 of the cow-head protesters were charged for illegal assembly, while six of them were slapped with an additional charge of sedition.

The Shah Alam Sessions Court has fixed April 12 to 16 next year to hear the case.