MCA, MIC, Gerakan Youth chiefs express concern over raid
Key partners of Umno Youth in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition have questioned the police action of seizing 19 computers from online news daily malaysiakini in a controversial raid on Monday.
MCA Youth chief ong Tee Keat said he was puzzled by the four-hour raid on
malaysiakini
's office.
"I was shocked by the news. I feel uneasy with the police action. On what basis was the action taken? It wasn't convincing," he told malaysiakini .
"As the government has guaranteed that there will be no censorship of the Internet, the police action is definitely a cause for great concern."
Ong also urged the police to speedily return the website's computers so that normal operations can resume.
The police raid followed a report lodged by Umno Youth information chief Azimi Daim against the daily over a letter published on Jan 9. The movement claimed the letter was seditious and could create chaos in the country as it questioned the bumiputera privilege.
Asked to comment on the report, ong said he reserved his opinion as he had yet to read the letter.
Exercise restrain
Gerakan Youth chief Mah Siew Keong lamented that the police raid had provided the opportunity for "certain quarters to criticise the authorities".
"Seizing the 19 computers will not solve the problem. The problem can be better solved if restrain is exercised by all parties concern," he said.
Mah expressed hope that the raid on the popular online daily is a "one-off incident".
He added that the freedom of Internet is essential if Malaysia aspires to be the major information technology hub in the region.
However, he urged malaysiakini 's editors to exercise discretion in publishing letters on sensitive topics.
Meanwhile, MIC Youth chief SA Vigneswaran also questioned the need to seize all the computers from the online daily's editorial department.
"I doubt whether it is necessary to take all the computers for investigation," he said.
He also reminded malaysiakini to be more circumspect when publishing articles and letters which are considered to be against "national security".
"I know malaysiakini is an independent news organisation, but it should exercise some limits," Vigneswaran said.
Suppressing voices of dissent
Opposition DAP Youth chairperson Nga Kor Ming said police should be professional and remain impartial in carrying out its duty rather than being used by Umno to suppress voices of dissent.
"The police has given the public an impression that whenever there is a report lodged by Umno, prompt action will be taken, whereas when the report is lodged by the opposition, nothing is done."
Nga was referring to the lack of action by the police on his Youth wing's report on Nov 19 against Umno Youth education bureau chief Dr Adham Baba for his alleged seditious statement that called on the government to close down all vernacular primary schools in the country.
"If no action is taken (on that report), it will definitely tarnish the police's professional image in the eyes of the public," Nga added.
He said the police's raid on the daily's premise on Monday amounted to a breach of Internet freedom and an infringement to the free flow of information which play a vital role in building the knowledge-based economy.
PAS Youth chief Mahfuz Omar said Umno Youth should point their finger at Prime Minister and Umno leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad before claiming that the letter published by malaysiakini had questioned Malays' special rights.
"All of us, including Umno Youth, should not forget that Mahathir had said the Malays should not rely on their special rights and has contemplated abolishing the provisions. Didn't he also stir up such sensitive issues?"
Mahfuz, who is also the Pokok Sena MP, urged Umno Youth to be more rational in handling the issue.
"If they are unhappy with the letter, they can always ask for an open dialogue with malaysiakini and I am confident that malaysiakini is willing to face its critics as this has been their editorial policy," he said.
Dirty tactic
PRM Youth in their statement yesterday also questioned the timing of the police report and the raid, implying that it may be connected to the impending general elections, which is due in 2004 or earlier.
"This indicates the unwillingness of the ruling party to allow any dissenting voice...we can only conclude that this is just another dirty tactic by the ruling parties - using their Youth wings - to bully those who question their actions and policies."
Malaysiakini
, set up in 1999, is Malaysia's only independent online news daily.Unlike the print and electronic media, it is free of licensing requirements because the government had pledged there would be no control of Internet content in line with the move to create the Multimedia Super Corridor, the country's answer to Silicon Valley.
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