The latest weekly issue of the PKR organ - dubbed Utusan Keadilan this time around to beat Home Ministry rules - has given the premier a slap in the face.

NONE It labelled the administration of Najib Abdul Razak as being “fascist” and “authoritarian”, outlining seven points to back its assertion - among these are complaints about curbs on press freedom and alleged promotion of race-based patriotism.   

Utusan Keadilan was distributed nationwide yesterday, just like its previous incarnations known as Sinar Keadilan , Obor Keadilan and Keadilan .

Putting out this series of one-off publications is PKR’s response to the Home Ministry’s suspension of its publishing permit for Suara Keadilan , which has run foul of the Printing Presses and Publication Act.

NONE One report quoted PKR de facto leader and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim as likening the restrictions on the press to similar controls during Malaysia’s colonial past.

Another highlighted the 80 percent plunge in foreign direct investments (FDI) last year , claiming that Najib had lied to the people by saying that the economy has recovered.

It cited details in the UN World Economic Report 2010, which revealed that the FDI into Malaysia had dropped by about 81 percent since last year.

NONE Also featured was how the premier had allegedly paid RM50,000 (US$15,000) to a Washington-based political consultant in April, in an attempt to get an opinion-editorial published in a major newspapers in the United States.

Utusan Keadilan

at the same time reported global news broadcaster CNN’s denial that Anwar had paid it to do an interview with him early last month, as claimed by Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia on July 9.

It further looked at the state of human rights in the country, which has been criticised by rights watchdog Suaram in its Human Rights Report 2009.

It said Najib's first year in office has been marked by further deterioration in the state of human rights.