Don't go over the edge over The Edge, Zahid told

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Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has been told to leave The Edge alone and cease threatening to revoke the permit of the business daily for its coverage on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MBD).

 

"The Fourth Estate should be allowed to carry out their duties responsibly, without any threat or intimidation," said Lim Chee Wee and Gan Ping Sieu, who are co-presidents of Centre For A Better Tomorrow (Cenbet).

 

"We view with grave concern the remarks by the minister in respect of the possible revocation of the publishing licence of business daily The Edge .

 

"The remarks could be construed as a veiled attempt to stifle press freedom and reeks of heightened media intimidation," Lim and Gan said in a statement today.

 

They were referring to the remark made by Zahid yesterday following the arrest of a former PetroSaudi International Ltd executive Xavier Andrea Justo ( photo ), a Swiss national, by Thai police for leaking company secrets to the Sarawak Report .

 

Zahid emphasised that the information carried by Sarawak Report and The Edge was untrue , saying facts had been twisted.

 

He had also warned the business daily's permit may be revoked for possibly reporting inaccurate news provided by the former PetroSaudi International employee.

 

The remarks contradict the spirit of greater freedom behind the amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 that were made three years ago, which abolished several restrictive provisions, the Cenbet leaders said.

 

“Even if the email and data were tampered with, the disproportionate, vociferous response of the minister stands in stark contrast to his silence over the many successful defamation suits brought by some politicians and activists against the mainstream media for defamatory or false news.

 

"Such successful suits show that these few newspapers are guilty of the wrong which the minister is levelling against The Edge ," they argued, while pressing for media organisations to uphold professional journalistic ethics.

 

"Bear in mind that the authority or stakeholders in 1MDB have other avenues if they feel they have been wrongly maligned by The Edge or other publications, whether in print or online," they said.

 

'Exhaust legal remedies'

In the spirit of rule of law and good governance, the authority or any aggrieved party must first exhaust their remedies via due legal processes to keep law and order or to ventilate their grievances, Lim and Gan said.

 

The minister shouldn't resort to administrative discretionary power readily for an alleged wrong in the absence of a grave national threat of upheaval and violence, they added.

 

The valid questions over 1MDB controversy were raised by either The Edge or other media were met with unusual silence by the responsible parties.

This was up until the pledge by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( photo ) that the matter would be investigated, as well as the Public Accounts Committee's efforts to investigate the matter, Lim and Gan added.

 

"The minister's remarks are in the circumstances, wholly unnecessary. It is equally alarming, as it has come on the heels of the arrests or questioning of five journalists in April," they claimed.

 

"Malaysia has a long way to go in media freedom, given it is ranked 147 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index this year. 

 

"Media freedom is a cornerstone of democracy on which this country is built. Any attempt that could be construed as veiled threats to stifle a healthy and open debate on any issue in this cyberage will be futile and counterproductive," Lim and Gan added.



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