Umno Sungai Besar chief Jamal Md Yunos' ultimatum to Malaysiakini to explain alleged funding by a George Soros-linked fund or see a portion of its office collapse has prompted immediate calls for him to be investigated.

“Jamal was reported to have threatened that Malaysiakini’s building would collapse.

"If the law is applied equally he should be probed for criminal intimidation under the Penal Code,” posted human rights lawyer Syahredzan Johan on Facebook.

Syahredzan added that Jamal should also be investigated under Section 9 of the Peaceful Assembly Act for failing to give at least 10 days' prior notice to protest in front of the portal’s office.

Jamal had made the threat over financier Soros having links to Open Society Foundations (OSF) that had given grants for certain KiniTV projects.

Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong also said in a statement regardless of any political affiliation and purported reports in leaked documents that the news portal allegedly received funding from OSF, Jamal has no right to take the law into his own hands.

“Such threats are unbecoming of a Malaysian society and norm.

“Furthermore it is a violation of Section 503 of the Penal Code where the police can and should take action against him,” he said.

Yong reminded all that under the said section, it is a crime to “threaten another with any injury to his person, reputation or property, or to the person or reputation of any one in whom that person is interested”.

He added that Jamal’s actions are deplorable and constitute criminal intimidation against the portal, its staff and property, urging police to take action.

“We cannot allow such lawless behaviour or mob threats to continue,” he said.

‘No powers to ban rallies’

On a related matter, Syahredzan noted that despite its announcement to that effect, the Home Ministry has no power to ban either electoral reform NGO Bersih nor the red-shirts from protesting just because they are not registered with the Registrar of Societies.

“The Home Ministry has no such powers under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) or under the Societies Act,” said the lawyer.

Similarly, Syahredzan said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has no power to probe news portals for receiving foreign funding, for such a thing is not a crime.

And despite the announcement by Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak that the MCMC is on the case, nothing in the Communications and Multimedia Act or the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act empowers it to do so.

“To do so would be ultra vires these two Acts,” argued Syahredzan.

They were commenting on the actions of Jamal who led a group of red-shirts to protest in front of the news portal’s office yesterday afternoon.

During a meeting between a deputation from Jamal's group and representatives from the news portal, the Sungai Besar Umno chief reportedly said that the news portal has until 4pm this Saturday to explain its OSF funding or a portion of their office building may collapse.

Malaysiakini CEO Premesh Chandran had earlier clarified that the grant in relation to KiniTV was used to produce the Realiti Sarawak and Sekilas Bumi Kenyalang programmes.

He said the grant only constituted a small portion of the Malaysiakini revenue, which largely relies on subscription and advertising.

The above information was conveyed to Jamal during the meet, and he reciprocated by asking all present to view a video on the alleged infractions of Soros and the OSF, which he played on his handphone.