Press group tells authorities not to curb investigative reporting

Summary

• Committee to Protect Journalists expresses alarm on the arrest of Malaysiakini journalist B Nantha Kumar.

• The press group urges authorities not to misuse the law to curb investigative reporting, noting that Nantha's arrest was the latest in a spate of actions by authorities against Malaysiakini in recent years.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the MACC’s arrest of Malaysiakini journalist B Nantha Kumar, saying that authorities must not misuse the law to curtail investigative reporting.

CPJ noted that he was arrested for allegedly soliciting and receiving a bribe of RM20,000 from a migrant worker agent mere days after Nantha exposed a migrant trafficking syndicate operating in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

"Corruption and human trafficking are crimes in Malaysia; reporting on these offences is not.

"Authorities must ensure Nantha can continue to report safely and that the law is not misused to curtail investigative reporting or to intimidate the media.

“Journalists must be free to uncover wrongdoing," said CPJ Asia programme coordinator Beh Lih Yi in a post on its website yesterday.

CPJ also noted that migrant trafficking and the mistreatment of migrant workers are widely criticised issues in Malaysia, which Nantha regularly reports on.

His latest report concerned a trafficking syndicate allegedly run by a former senior government official and a foreign national at KLIA, published on Feb 22.

READ MORE | Bribe allegation: This is my story

Malaysiakini stands by Nantha’s report. However, its managing editor Ng Ling Fong told CPJ that the news portal will not tolerate wrongdoing from staff, if proven. Nantha is set to be released from MACC remand today.

Spate of actions against Mkini

The press group also noted that Nantha's arrest was merely the latest in a spate of actions that Malaysiakini faced from the authorities in recent years.

These include police summoning three Malaysiakini journalists - including Nantha - for questioning over a report on the proposed reshuffling of its top brass, the order to remove certain reports concerning a corruption scandal in Sabah, and the seizure of an executive editor's laptop over a report on a former minister's remarks.

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki denied that Nantha’s arrest in the early hours of March 1 was linked to his reports on the migrant worker trafficking syndicate, saying he was nabbed in a sting operation after the agent that the reporter was dealing with lodged a report.

Azam also confirmed that the MACC is investigating the alleged migrant trafficking syndicate exposed in Nantha’s reports.

“I have mentioned this many times to the media that we (MACC) are not only investigating, but we have been doing investigations on issues related to cartels that deal with trafficking migrant labourers into this country,” he told a press conference yesterday.

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