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PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
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Malaysia: Government threatens to close five independent papers
His Excellency Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
Prime Minister
Jabatan Perdana Menteri
Jalan Dato' Onn
Kuala Lumpur 50502
Malaysia
VIA FAX: +60-3-238-3784
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply
concerned about
the Ministry of Home Affairs' recent threats to close
five Malaysian
publications, including the widely-read opposition
biweekly Harakah.
In a letter dated December 24, 1999, the home
ministry accused
Harakah, the newspaper of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic
Party (PAS),
of ignoring the terms of its publishing license by
selling to non-party
members. The ministry has ordered PAS to stop
distributing Harakah
via public newsstands by January 8.
The home ministry apparently retaliated against
Harakah for its critical
coverage of the arrest and trial of former Deputy
Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim last year. These events broadened Harakah's
readership
considerably and established it as a source of
alternative news on the
trial and other politically sensitive subjects.
Also on December 24, the privately financed,
pro-opposition
fortnightly Detik received a show-cause notice from
the home ministry
asking management to state reasons why Detik's
publishing permit
should not be revoked. Detik allegedly broke the
terms of its license by
failing to inform the ministry of its new chief
editor's appointment, by
not printing a mailing address on its masthead, and
by transferring its
permit to another publishing company without the
ministry's consent.
Detik's license expired in December and has yet to be
renewed. The
delay has disrupted Detik's publication schedule,
causing the magazine
to miss three issues since December.
Detik's new sister publication, Wasilah, also
received a show-cause
notice that day. The ministry warned the monthly
magazine that it must
abide by the terms of its license by publishing under
its full name, Al
Wasilah.
Two other publications received similar threats this
past fall. In an
October 28 letter, the home ministry accused the
monthly opposition
magazine Tamadun of publishing material that "could
cause hatred
among the people towards the government," according
to the online
publication Malaysiakini.com. And soon after the
November 1999
elections, the ministry accused the independent
weekly tabloid
Eksklusif of "spreading rumors."
Your government's use of licensing regulations to
intimidate local media
clearly violates international standards of press
freedom and severely
restricts the Malaysian public's ability to evaluate
important issues
facing the country. CPJ therefore urges the
government of Malaysia to
repeal the 1984 Printing Press and Publications Act,
under which
publishing permits must be renewed annually.
Malaysia's few pro-opposition publications provide a
necessary
counterbalance to your country's
government-controlled mainstream
press. In the absence of such alternative voices,
Malaysia cannot be
called a democratic state. As a nonpartisan
organization of journalists
dedicated to the defense of our colleagues around the
world, CPJ
urges your government to retract its threats against
Harakah, Detik,
Wasilah, Tamadun, and Eksklusif, and asks you to
ensure that all five
periodicals may continue to publish freely.
We appreciate your attention to these urgent matters,
and await your
response.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on the Press in
Malaysia
Send a letter to:
His Excellency Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
Prime Minister
Jabatan Perdana Menteri
Jalan Dato' Onn
Kuala Lumpur 50502
Malaysia
VIA FAX: +60-3-238-3784
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