The Al Jazeera programme on Malaysia's sedition crackdown is not a victim of censorship.

A source from the Middle Eastern satellite TV station said that this is despite part two of the program missing from the alloted time slot yesterday.

"There is no censorship. The updated package (or Part 2) of the programme simply fell through the cracks," the source told Malaysiakini this evening.

He said this when asked about word that an Al Jazeera programme that showcased a live interview with a guest from Human Rights Watch (HRW) on the current crackdown political and other personalities on sedition charges in Malaysia was pulled out for censorship.

Lawyers for Liberty co-founder Eric Paulsen ( right ) tweeted on his handle @EricPaulsen101: "Wonder if Astro censored @Al Jazeera news on Malaysia's sedition crackdown - it was on in the afternoon but not seen late tonight."

This sparked the speculation on censorship.

"The first part of the report contained a live interview with a HRW spokesperson and that was aired between 1pm until 6pm yesterday,” the Al Jazeera source said.

"However, the updated package had footage of Safwan Anang's silent protest at KLCC and Al Jazeera was not able to air it due to the precedence other news stories took, such as Isis, ebola, and so on."

The source reiterated that the reason why the updated package was not aired had nothing to do with any censorship on the sedition issue in Malaysia.

Former Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) chairperson Safwan Anang ( left ) was on Sept 5 jailed for 10 months by a sessions court in Kuala Lumpur on his sedition charge.

Safwan was accused of making a seditious speech to encourage members of the public to topple the legitimately-elected government through illegal means.

He is among several opposition politicians and activists who have been charged under the Sedition Act in a recent crackdown.

 

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