Press freedom groups condemn violation of human rights
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa) has condemned yesterday's police raid on the malaysiakini office, during which 15 CPUs and four servers were seized, as a "grave violation of press freedom".
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad at Putrajaya yesterday, the Bangkok-based regional press advocacy group's chairperson Kavi Chongkittavorn said the police action was "totally unjustified".
"This should be viewed as nothing but a crude attempt to muzzle
malaysiakini
which for the past three years has been a major source of unsanctioned news and information about Malaysia," said Kavi in the two-page letter.
In another statement, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders want Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also deputy prime minister, to see that the "equipment is returned at once" and to drop all investigations against malaysiakini .
Restrictive laws
Human rights group Amnesty International also joined in the chorus of disapproval to question the Malaysian government's pledge not to censor Internet content.
"The restriction of freedom of expression has now hit the Internet. This demonstrates, yet again, how restrictive laws are used to curtail freedom of expression in Malaysia," it said in a statement.
"The investigation of malaysiakini makes the government's pledge not to censor the Internet sound hollow. Laws like the Sedition Act, that fail to conform to international human rights standards, threaten the survival of an independent media and freedom of expression in Malaysia."
The Sedition Act
1948 places limitations on discussion about issues that could cause ill-will among the various races in Malaysia.Although section 3 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 prohibits censorship of the Internet, there are provisions against "defamatory and false information".
"Efforts by independent domestic and international media sources, as well as opposition politicians and Malaysian non-governmental organisations to comment on sensitive social issues run the risk of fines, prosecution and imprisonment," AI said.
The group also said it was time that the Malaysian government stopped eroding human rights in the name of stability and development.
"Real stability and development can only be achieved through guaranteeing the free expression of views on emerging social and economic problems, and protecting other fundamental human rights," it added.
Journalistic ethics
A 10-member police team comprising plainclothes and uniformed personnel from federal and Dang Wangi district police arrived unannounced at malaysiakini about 12.30pm yesterday.
Led by Bukit Aman computer crimes head Supt Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din, they held a 90-minute discussion with senior staff before seizing the equipment for "forensic investigation".
The raid was in reaction to a police report by Umno Youth alleging that a letter published in the 'Letters to the Editor' forum on Jan 9 was seditious because it purportedly questioned Malay rights.
The movement alleged that the letter contained false allegations about the government's treatment of other races and Orang Asli. It also compared Umno Youth to white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan of the US.
However, Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan said the exercise was an excuse to shut down the site, saying that the letter was not seditious, but a fact-based comparative study.
He said the police had demanded that the editors reveal the identity of the letter writer, but that he had refused to as a matter of journalistic principle.
Malaysiakini which began operations in November 1999, offers independent news coverage in a country where the media is controlled and subjected to very strict laws.
For more news and views that matter, subscribe and support independent media for only RM0.36 sen a day:
Subscribe now