COMMENT Public interest is better served if the authorities can be persuaded to drop the matter immediately rather than proceeding to haul the five senior editors from independent online news portal The Malaysian Insider ( TMI ) to court for sedition and/or improper use of the Internet.

The authorities are wrong in arresting them and throwing them into the slammer even for one night. The sedition law is so obsolete that it was not even enacted by parliament but introduced by the departing British colonial masters in 1948. The other law which was passed in 1998 actually guarantees no censorship of the Internet.

What crime did the five journalists commit that they deserve to be hanged by these draconian laws? To be sure they were merely performing their duties in the tradition that the purpose of journalism  is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing. No more, no less.

In this instance, The Malaysian Insider was attempting to provide information on the hudud controversy so that public debate on this controversy can be on an informed basis.

The Malaysian Insider on March 25 reported that the Conference of Rulers had rejected a proposal to amend a federal law that would pave the way for hudud to be enforced in Kelantan.

The Keeper of the Rulers' Seal lodged a police report the following day denying that the Conference of Rulers had discussed the matter, adding that it had never issued any statement on hudud in Kelantan.

Kedah Umno Youth also filed a police report against the portal. Barisan Nasional MPs have complained about the portal in Parliament, while Umno-controlled Utusan Malaysia has carried several reports urging action against the portal.

Police raided the TMI office four days later and arrested the portal’s managing editor Lionel Morais, Bahasa editor Amin Iskandar and features and analysis editor Zulkifli Sulong. They were remanded overnight at the police lockup. The following day The Edge publisher Ho Kay Tat and The Malaysian Insider chief executive Jahabar Sadiq turned up at the Dang Wangi police station for their statements to be taken but ended up in the lockup also. The Edge is owner of TMI.

Journalists lay down their professional lives on the line each time they choose to report in anything not sanctioned by the powers that be. We have just witnessed how real this professional hazard can be as it has always been in Malaysia as under other authoritarian regimes round the world.

With the dark clouds hanging over us, it is most inspiring to hear what Jahabar has to say: “ The Malaysian Insider will continue to report without fear or favour despite these arrests. It is business as usual.”

More to it than meets the eye

There is more to it than meets the eye when he said just before he was arrested, “These arrests appear to go beyond just our reportage about one hudud article."

Indeed so, The Edge and The Malaysian Insider have also been reporting on problems with the government-owned strategic investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). Just last month, The Edge Media Group said it will continue to publish articles on Low Taek Jho and his alleged links to the controversies surrounding 1MDB, despite facing possible legal action by the Malaysian billionaire.

The Edge group CEO and publisher Ho Kay Tat said the group has received several letters from Low’s lawyers accusing the group of allegedly defaming Low.

“We would like to state here that The Edge Media Group stands by all the articles we have published about Mr Low and about 1Malaysia Development Bhd, and we will continue to publish news stories about Mr Low and 1MDB as and when it is merited,” Ho said.

Both Jahabar’s and Ho’s are rare and courageous voices in the wilderness. So too are the other three TMI editors. The time has come for all journalists to heed the call of professionalism. There is no other option. Readers are obliged to support them too for it is the public that they are reporting for in the first place.

Time was when Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak believed in press freedom. In fact, within five days of becoming PM he addressed the Malaysian Press Institute, saying, “I firmly believe that there is a vital place for a vibrant, free, and informed press.” In 2012, he also promised to repeal the Sedition Act 1948. Let us be reminded that we are judged by both our words and deeds.

The Malaysian Insider may have made an error to run the story based presumably on sources. That’s the risk journalists take and that’s the choice they have to make. Sometimes they do make the wrong call. Stuff do happen and when that happens there are remedies. One is to make a clarification correction, retraction or an apology.

It’s no crime to make a mistake. Wrong reporting is not a seditious act nor is it an improper use of the Internet under the multimedia law. It’s time to close the file on the five editors - no further action, please.

BOB TEOH was formerly secretary-general of the Confederation of Asean Journalists.