Astro fined by MCMC for re-airing Al Jazeera's 'Murder in Malaysia' film
Satellite television provider Astro has been fined by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for airing a documentary, in 2015, that was produced by international broadcaster Al Jazeera on the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.
This comes with Al Jazeera having fallen under police scrutiny for its July 3 documentary, "Locked up in Malaysia’s Lockdown".Satellite television provider Astro has been fined by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for re-airing a documentary, in 2015, that was produced by international broadcaster Al Jazeera on the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.
This comes with Al Jazeera having fallen under police scrutiny for its July 3 documentary, "Locked up in Malaysia’s Lockdown".
Like the film on Altantuya's death, "Murder in Malaysia", the recent documentary was aired as part of the award-winning Asia Pacific current affairs programme, 101 East.
The compound from MCMC that was sighted by Malaysiakini was issued to Measat Broadcast Network Systems Bhd, which operates Astro.
The notice was sent to Measat on July 7, close to five years after the film had re-aired four times on Sept 11, 12 and 14, 2015.
The episode was first aired on Sept 10, 2015.
Confirming this, MCMC said it had compounded the satellite television provider because it re-aired content which was "indecent" (jelik) and in breach of Section 211 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
The section states: "No content applications service provider, or other person using a content applications service, shall provide content which is indecent, obscene, false, menacing, or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person."
The commission said investigations commenced following a public complaint.
In its letter to Measat, MCMC said the company was found guilty of airing the episode, which was "indecent", with the intention to offend related parties.
As such, the company was fined RM1,000 for each time the episode was aired, totalling RM4,000. The company has 30 days to appeal against the compound.
Astro did not respond to requests for comment.
Journalist deported
The "Murder in Malaysia" documentary detailed the October 2006 murder of Altantuya and linked it to Najib Abdul Razak, who was prime minister when the film was aired on Astro’s Channel 513.
In response, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued a statement denying that Najib met or had any communication with Altantuya. The office also denied that the two men convicted of her murder were Najib's bodyguards.
"This allegation is intentionally misleading, and has been used to perpetuate baseless conspiracy theories," the PMO had said in the statement published on Al Jazeera's website.
The 101 East journalist Mary Ann Jolley (above) was deported during the production of the documentary.
The Home Ministry told Al Jazeera that Jolley was deported because her activity had a "potentially negative effect on the image of Malaysia".
In 2018, Najib, in an interview with Jolley, told her she was deported because she was a "nuisance" and was "making lies".
Jolley won "Interview of the Year" in the UK’s Royal Television Society's Television Journalism Awards for the interview.
Work visa cancelled, Al Jazeera probed
On Tuesday, the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) said Al Jazeera did not have the necessary licences to film "Locked Up in Malaysia's Lockdown".
Police are investigating Al Jazeera for allegedly breaching Section 22 (1) of the Finas Act 1981 (Amendment 2013) for carrying out film production activities without a valid licence from Finas.
It is also being investigated for sedition and improper use of network facilities, while 101 East journalists have received death threats from Malaysians incensed by what they perceive to be a negative portrayal of the country, Al Jazeera said.
On July 12, a week after the documentary was aired, the Immigration Department cancelled the work visa of Bangladesh citizen Md Rayhan Kabir, 25, who had in the film alleged mistreatment against migrants by the Malaysian government.
International human rights groups said the government's response to the documentary is putting media freedom and the safety of migrants and refugees at stake.
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