The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged the government to stop harassing news portal Malaysiakini.

This comes after police opened a criminal investigation into Malaysiakini, and following the red-shirts' threat to “tear down” the news portal's building.

"The notion that Malaysiakini's independent reporting could somehow be a threat, rather than a boon, to Malaysia's democracy shows how contorted the government's priorities have become," CPJ senior Southeast Asia representative Shawn Crispin said on its website.

"We call on police to stop this politicised probe and for the government to cease threatening independent journalists."