Embassy tells Thai journalists: police raid on Malaysiakini lawful

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The Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok said the police have followed 'due process' in carrying out the controversial raid o­n malaysiakini last month which resulted in the seizure of 19 computers from the o­nline news daily.

The embassy was responding to a Feb 7 report ' Malaysiakini crackdown condemned' in Thailand's English-language newspaper The Nation concerning an open letter by a group of Thai journalists to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"The embassy wishes to point out that the Malaysian authorities have allowed malaysiakini to operate freely without imposing any form of censorship since it started operations three years ago," said the mission's first secretary Kamsiah Kamaruddin.

She said the police raid followed a complaint by Umno Youth that malaysiakini had committed a seditious act.

"Such an investigation is provided for under the Malaysia Sedition Act of 1948, which empowers the police to conduct investigations if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a seditious act has or is being committed or is likely to be committed," she added in a letter published by The Nation o­n Monday.

Up to AG

Kamsiah said the confiscation of the website's computers and servers was to help the police investigate the allegation.

"Once the police have completed their investigation, and should the attorney-general decide to press charges, it would be up to the competent Malaysian courts to decide whether malaysiakini has committed a seditious act or otherwise," she said.

Early this month, 38 Thai journalists from 11 publications sent a letter to Mahathir through the embassy condemning the police raid.

"As much as you or other leaders of Malaysia may not like some of the opinions expressed o­n the Internet newspaper, we ... believed that it is to the best interests of any society that the people enjoy the right to freely express themselves," the journalists told the premier.

The Thai journalists also expressed disappointment that while the Malaysian government was generally critical and outspoken about the abuse of human rights and the hypocrisy of some Western governments, it has resorted to strong-arm tactics to maintain control over its own citizens and stop them from speaking out.

The journalists are from English-language dailies The Nation and Bangkok Post , Thai-language dailies Kom Chad Luek , Thai Post , Matichon , Khao Sod , Krungthep Turakij , Manager , magazines Nation Weekend , Art & Culture , and Nation News Agency .

Fate unknown

In the Jan 20 police raid, 15 central processing units and four servers were confiscated for "forensic examination" over an allegedly seditious letter published in malaysiakini.

The next day, malaysiakini was dealt another blow when it was slapped with an eviction notice from its landlord PC Suria for having committed "activities which contravene the laws of the country".

The raid was in response to a police report lodged by Umno Youth over the letter written by a reader, which the movement claimed had questioned Malay special rights and the system of racial preferences.

Fifteen computers have since been returned but the fate of the four servers is unknown.

The police have also recorded statements from malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan (left) and four other editorial staff.

Those found guilty of violating the Sedition Act are punished with a maximum RM5,000 fine or a jail sentence of up to three years, or both.



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