MP SPEAKS | The investigation of a Malaysian reporter, Tashny Sukumaran, on World Press Freedom Day over her article on the recent migrant crackdown shows the government’s lack of respect for media freedom.

It is an unnecessary act of harassment by the authorities, especially during this movement control order (MCO) period.

Tashny, a reporter working for the South China Morning Post, is being hauled up for questioning by the police for her reporting on the cruel and inhumane raid and arrests of migrants, including young children, by the authorities in Kuala Lumpur on May 1, 2020.

This investigation reveals an alarming eagerness of the government to use repressive laws to persecute and bully our journalists into silence. What’s more, it shows that the government is not interested in taking action to protect vulnerable communities and has even defended the raids...