“Bad reporting” is no reason to arrest the four The Malaysian Insider (TMI) senior editors and The Edge publisher, the Foreign Correspondents Club Malaysia said.

 

Earlier, Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz has justified the arrests - made under the Sedition Act and Communications and Multimedia Act - because TMI had “lied” in a news report on Islamic penal code hudud.

 

According to FCCM, the use of the two laws against the journalists was a form of intimidation to curb freedom of expression.

 

“Authorities must ask if they are cracking down on alleged sedition or merely "bad" reporting?” it asked.

 

Even if it was for “bad reporting”, it said, the journalists need not be detained by the police because they are not flight risks.

 

“It is of great concern that the police are applying ‘preventive measures’ to reporters, as if they were terrorists.”

 

FCCM, a group comprising foreign journalists in Malaysia, said while it was proud to operate in a vibrant society like Malaysia, it urged authorities to replace “misplaced brute force” with “proactive civil methods”.

 

Separately, the International Federation of Journalists said the arrests showed Malaysian journalists continue to operate in a hostile environment.

 

“The Malaysian media continues to be threatened ... and journalists are intimidated by potential jail sentences.

 

“The continued invoking of the Sedition Act by the government and authorities against the media is working to weaken democracy in Malaysia and violate freedom of expression,” IFJ Asia Pacific director Jane Worthington said in a statement.

 

Trio freed

 

On Monday, TMI managing editor Lionel Morais, Malay-language news editor Amin Shah Iskandar ( left ), and features and analysis editor Zulkifli Sulong were arrested by the police following a raid on the news portal’s office.

 

After spending a night in the lock-up, they were released yesterday when the police failed to obtain a remand from the Magistrate's Court.

 

Meanwhile, Ho Kay Tat, chief executive editor of The Edge Media Group which owns TMI, and TMI chief executive Jahabar Sadiq were arrested yesterday when they turned up at the Dang Wangi police station for questioning.

 

According to lawyer Syahredzan Johan, the police have decided not to apply for a remand order for the duo.

"Their statement will be taken along with the IT consultant. Should be out after that," he said in a Twitter post this morning.