The publishing permit of Detik , which is published twice a month, expired on Nov 31, 1999. We sent in an application to renew the permit two months ago. We feel that there is no reason for the home ministry to deny us a permit as we have always abided by the rules and ethics of journalism.

We always ensured that every article and analysis published was not defamatory nor fabricated. With the support of our readers, Detik has managed to increase its circulation and is on par with other prominent magazines. We, therefore, intend to publish our magazine thrice a month, in accordance with the original permit issued by the ministry. We also intend to lower its price and take a new approach, making it a news magazine.

Considering the developments in the local media restricted by the Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984, our responsibility to present something different in the magazine industry has become more difficult. Readers want a media that is more responsible, brave, free, current, reveals oppression and stands by the truth. The situation of the local media is quite disheartening. We are still constricted by archaic rules in need of reform. Therefore, we stand by the slogan "suara reformasi rakyat" .

Unfortunately, we were chastised by the Home Ministry on Oct 23. According to the ministry, the articles published in Detik had digressed from the scope of its original permit application, that is, "the articles published were more political based as compared to articles that touched on economic, social and educational issues."

The ministry also said that 90 per cent of the articles published were "political in nature and appeared to be mainly focused on the opposition parties". It added that "the ministry took a serious view towards the articles in this publication which did not abide by the scope of the original application as well as the unbalanced nature of those articles".

In the letter, signed by Tengku Mahmood Tengku Ismail, the ministry instructed us to "stop publishing such articles immediately and abide by the scope of the original permit application". Otherwise, action could be taken against us under the Printing Presses and Publication Act.

We replied at once that while we tried our best to ensure we followed the requisite rules and regulations, we would not do adhere to rules which constrict press freedom. We suggested that we would implement changes incrementally, particularly after the general elections. We have not received a response to our letter.

However, we suggested that we would implement changes step-by-step, especially after the general elections. We hay not received any response to the letter. When we contacted the ministry, we were told by an officer that our permit application was made late and this would also result in a late reply from the ministry. However, we had hoped that the publication of Detik would not be disrupted, especially the special issue on the 1999 general election analysis scheduled for publication in early December.

After trying two or three times for a response from the ministry, we were finally informed that our permit was renewed. According to the ministry's letter KDN.1505(8757)(25) dated 9 Dec 9, 1999 signed by Che Haslina Che Mamat, our application was successful and we paid the permit fee of RM500.

According to procedure, we must have received a printing permit (PP) number before resuming publication and we were told by an officer to allow for a week or two before a number was allocated. When we failed to receive a PP number, we contacted the ministry again and we told by an officer that our permit was revoked on the the instructions of the home minister. We were shocked at the verbal revocation.

We received a show cause letter on Dec 24 requiring us to state the reasons why Detik's permit should not be withdrawn. Surprisingly, the ministry did not cite Detik's content as its reason for witholding the permit but listed three technical offences instead.

Our three offences were that we:

1. Failed to print the publisher's address.

2. Transferred the permit to Penerbitan Pemuda without the consent of the home minister.

3. Appointed Ahmad Lufti Othman as our editor-in-chief without notifying the ministry.

We acknowledged our mistake and immediately apologised to the ministry. Ahmad has now been downgraded to the post of editor. However, we deny that we committed the second mistake.

At present, the ministry has not responded to our explanation. Readers of Detik seem impatient to know the situation of the publication and many have called up asking us if the magazine has been banned. We are not sure ourselves.