Police raid on Malaysiakini under more fire
Umno Youth should have used the same media space to explain its objection to the allegedly seditious letter published by malaysiakini on Jan 9, said the International Movement for a Just World (Just).
In a joint press statement, its president Dr Chandra Muzaffar and former secretary-general Dr A Farish Noor said this would have been in accordance with the "fundamental principles of democracy as well as adab (civil etiquette) of difference and disagreement in Islam".
"At a time when Malaysia is trying to present itself as a model democratic Muslim state and a haven for progressive Muslim thought, moves such as these only serve to reinforce the mainstream Western media stereotyping of Malaysia as a repressive state.
"Progressive Islam can only develop in a society that is democratic and tolerant of differences in opinion," they said.
The duo added the authorities should have invited malaysiakini to explain their position rather than resorting to the use of strong-arm tactics if they felt they had a case against the online daily.
"In a democratic society, any party that feels strongly about any comment/statement should abide by the rules of civil debate and respond to the statement by writing or open discussion," they said, adding that the police raid was a blatant attempt to suppress freedom of expression.
On Monday, police raided malaysiakini's office in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur and confiscated 15 central processing units and four internal servers following a report lodged by Umno Youth over the letter.
In its Jan 17 report, the movement claimed the letter-'Similarities between new Americans and bumiputera'-was seditious and could cause racial disharmony in the country.
However, malaysiakini maintains that the letter was not seditious, but a comparative study.
The police have so far questioned editor-in-chief Steven Gan, news editor Nash Rahman, chief sub-editor Chuah Siew Eng and sub-editors Chow Chui Lin and R Ananda Krishnan.
On Wednesday, six CPUs were returned while three more and a server were released yesterday.
Urgent protest
Meanwhile, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang appealed to members of the Multimedia Super Corridor's (MSC) International Advisory Panel to send urgent protest messages to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"(They should protest against the) violation of the MSC Bill of Guarantees of no Internet censorship as it has precipitated an international crisis of confidence in the (project)," he said in a statement today.
Lim said the panel members should demand a public apology and an iron-clad guarantee of no recurrence of such violation of the Bill of Guarantees in order to save the MSC.
Among the more prominent panel members are Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Acer's founder Dr Stan Sih, IBM's Louis Gerstner Jr and the founder of Dell computers, Michael S Dell.
The panel was formed to advise and counsel Mahathir and Malaysia on "strategic issues related to the MSC such as infrastructure and the environment, policies and cyberlaws, marketing and incentives, and the development of domestic industries".
"It is most regrettable that my call to the cabinet on Tuesday to intervene before irreparable damage was done to Malaysia's ambition to be a world-class K-economy and IT power by directing the police to abide by the Bill of Guarantee fell on deaf ears," said Lim.
He said it was deplorable that the cabinet had not addressed the high-handed police action against malaysiakini because of its far-reaching implications for democracy and human rights.
In a related development, the Commonwealth Journalists Association joined other international media organisations in criticising the police raid.
" The raid appears to have been precipitate, unjustified, and an attempt to stifle basic press freedoms. The ability to report freely and fairly, and to argue and discuss from varying points of view is at the basis of good governance," said its executive director Ian Gillham.
The association also expressed hope that the particular raid was a "singular lapse that will not be repeated" in Malaysia.
Peaceful protest
In New York, two Malaysians and an American activist staged a peaceful protest outside the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations.
According to student Lilianne Fan, the trio held posters which read, 'Mansuhkan Akta Hasutan' (Abolish Sedition Act) and 'Protect Press Freedom'.
They also distributed flyers which stated: 'Malaysia: Draconian Law Threaten Press Freedom" to passers-by.
"A few passers-by said they had already heard about the raid on CNN and local news channels.
"Several Malaysians working at the mission were also interested to know more," said the student who contacted by malaysiakini .
Fan said Gan's press statement was also posted onto the newswire of the Independent Media Center (www.indymedia.org), an international collective of independent organisations and journalists offering grassroots and non-corporate coverage of events worldwide, as well as a democratic forum for discussion and debate.
Also condemning the raid was the Hong Kong-based Asian Students Association, which said such a political crackdown cannot be tolerated or taken aside.
"The Malaysian government should settle and the people shall collect," said Lee Khai Loon, Rey Asis and Helen Te Hira in a joint statement by the umbrella body for 52 national student organisations in Asian countries.
"As a member of the community of nations, the Malaysian government should respect and adhere to democratic principles and the freedom of expression enshrined in the convention of the United Nations," they stressed.
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