No pressure on malaysiakini to reveal source, says IGP
The police will not exert any pressure on malaysiakini to reveal the source of a letter alleged to be seditious as they have their own way of obtaining this information, said Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai today.
He also stressed that the police had no intention of ending the three-year-old online daily's operations either.
"The police will not put any form of pressure on malaysiakini to reveal the source of the letter as the police have their own way of getting information on the origin of the letter," he was quoted by national news agency Bernama .
Commenting on yesterday's seizure of computer hardware, Norian said it was necessary because malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan had refused to cooperate.
He said the seizure for further forensic analysis, which included 15 CPUs and four servers, was part of police investigation to identify the writer of the letter.
Professional ethics
Gan had refused to divulge the writer's identity, citing professional ethics. He also maintained that the letter did not carry any remarks that could incite racial hatred but was based on a factual comparative study.
Last week, Umno Youth lodged a police report claiming that the letter dated Jan 9 contained false allegations and questioned the special rights accorded to Malay Malaysians.
This morning, police recorded a statement from Gan in relation to the case during a three-hour interview.
In a related development, Deputy Home Minister Zainal Abidin Zin said the police raid on malaysiakini 's office was to defend the rights of the Malaysian people.
He said the government's pledge not to censor the Internet should not be open to abuse.
"Where there are any parties committing acts which are unjust against society, the government must act responsibly to defend the rights of the people," he added.
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