Some 70 journalists, activists, and members of the public gathered outside The Edge Media Group's headquarters in Mutiara Damansara in Petaling Jaya today to show their solidarity.

This is in protest of the Home Ministry's suspension of The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily, published by the media group, for its critical reporting of 1MDB.

The protesters chanted slogans such as "Free the press" and "Long live the media" during the protest, a prelude to a bigger rally scheduled for Aug 8.

Today's protest is jointly organised by the Coalition for Press Freedom (CPF), comprising Gerakan Media Marah (Geramm), Institute of Journalists (IOJ), Foreign Correspondents Club Of Malaysia (FCCM), Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), and Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).

The rally dubbed 808 will kick off at 11am on Aug 8 at Pasar Seni, Kuala Lumpur, where the attendees will then march to the Bar Council headquarters on Lebuh Pasar.

In their statement read to the people, CPF called for the government to unblock access to Sarawak Report and lift the suspension on two publications from The Edge Media Group.

"The press must be allowed to seek information and report on matters of public interest without any fear or favour," he said.

Meanwhile, CPF spokesperson Fathi Aris Omar said the gathering today is the biggest multi organisation rally in the last 10 years, as it was also joined by international media groups.

He said this development is because there is awareness from the media fraternity and the public who view the blocking and suspension as "too much".

"I think the gathering today is successful as there are many media friends attending. I think in my years as a press freedom activist, this is the biggest group of journalists I have met and worked with in 10 years.

"This is a good initiative," he added.

The attendees, clad in black, started to gather in front of The Edge Headquarters at 3pm. The group dispersed an hour later.