The PAS splinter group Gerakan Harapan Baru (GHB) has voiced support for an upcoming rally to protest against the suspension for The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily .

Its chairperson Mohammad Sabu said the group is of the view that there are sufficient laws to resolve any dispute about media reporting without resorting to the ‘stifling and oppressive’ Printing Press and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA).

This applies even if there are ethical concerns about how The Edge Media Group - which owns both publications - had obtained the information it had published.

“Therefore, GHB will be joining the solidarity rally and all actions to voice our solidarity to oppose this latest move by the government to curtail press freedom through the PPPA, and to abolish this draconian law,” he said in a statement today.

The two publications from The Edge was slapped with a three-month suspension effective tomorrow over its reporting of the 1MDB scandal.

The Home Ministry had given three reasons for the suspension, including that the two publications had supposedly created negative perceptions towards 1MDB and implicated the government and national leaders.

It added that the reporting was based on ‘doubtful and unverified information’, and that it is unfair to 1MDB for the publications to continuously report on the issue even though an investigation is already underway.

Mohammad ( photo ) said the government should either answer to the allegations or refute everything with concrete evidence, instead of merely punishing those who make the allegations with suspensions.

“How could truth and enlightenment undermine public order? Wouldn’t public order and public interest be affected in the end if the 1MDB scandal and mismanagement goes unfettered?

“Is the government still going to cover up the 1MDB wrongdoings including the latest allegation that RM2.6 billion had been channelled into the prime minister’s account and another RM2 billion into his wife’s account? Won’t this merely strengthen the negative perception towards the government?” he asked.

The Edge has vowed to challenge the suspension in court, while several media groups have called for a rally to be held outside The Edge’s office in Petaling Jaya to show support to the news company.

The rally will be held on July 31 at 3pm, and is endorsed by Gerakan Media Marah (Geramm), Institute of Journalists (IoJ), Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), and Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia.