An Asean journalist organisation has sent a fax to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad condemning the Home Ministry's threats to ban PAS organ Harakah and four other publications.

The Southeast Asia Press Alliance, in an official letter to Mahathir dated Jan 8, said that the threats by the Home Ministry "constitute a grave and unacceptable assault on press freedom".

The organisation, which is a coalition of Southeast Asian journalists, said it was "deeply disturbed" by the latest developments.

"As an organisation of Southeast Asian journalists committed to the principles of free expression in the region, Seapa strongly urges the Malaysian government to lift any threats made against these five publications and to allow them to be sold freely and openly," said its chairperson, Kavi Chongkittavorn.

The Bangkok-based organisation further urged the Malaysian government to abolish the Printing Presses and Publications Act that requires newspapers and magazines to renew their publishing licenses annually.

"The licensing of publications is a violation of all internationally accepted standards of press freedom," said Chongkittavorn. "It limits the Malaysian public's ability to fairly judge the vital issues facing the country," he added.

The statement was sent in response to the Home Ministry's action to prohibit the sale biweekly PAS tabloid in public news stands. The organisation also criticised the ministry for issuing warning letters to bimonthly magazines Detik and Tamadun , newly-launched Wasilah , and independent weekly tabloid Eksklusif .

"With all of Malaysia's mainstream newspapers directly controlled by allies of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, the alternative voices provided by a handful of pro-opposition publications are vital to the maintenance of a semblance of democracy," Chongkittavorn said.

Seapa, formed in 1998 in Bangkok, is a coalition of independent journalists from three "free press" Southeast Asian nations - Indonesia, Thailand and Phillippines. Members include the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Indonesia), Indonesia Institute for Studies in the Free Flow of Information, Indonesia Centre for Media Freedom and Responsibility, Philippine Centre for Investigative Journalism, and Reporters Association of Thailand. Seapa is also a sponsor of malaysiakini .

Last Friday, another journalist organisation, Reporters Sans Frontieres, sent a letter yesterday to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Abdullah Badawi, urging him to ensure that the publication licences of a number of local newspapers and magazines "are not withdrawn". The Paris-based organisation which defends press freedom throughout the world also criticised the government's threats to withdraw the publishing permits of the five publications.

While foreign journalists rushed to the defence of the five publications under threat, local journalists have kept mum over the crackdown. National Union of Journalists general secretary Hong Boon How told malaysiakini last week that his organisation had yet to take any action on the issue.

According to him, Harakah journalists are not members of NUJ, therefore it was premature for the union to make a statement. "It is not fair for us to comment as they are not members of NUJ," said Hong. NUJ has more than 1,500 members, mainly journalists from the print media industry.