KUCHING: Journalist groups will be holding a rally on Aug 8 as a show of solidarity after the government’s order of a three-month suspension on the Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily over their reports of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MBD) controversy.
The group includes Gerakan Media Marah (Geramm), the Institute of Journalists (IoJ), Reporters Sans Frontier (RSF), Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia.
“We urge all media organizations, regardless of language or stream, to stand in solidarity against the government’s latest crackdown under the Printing Presses
and Publication Act 1984,” said the statement issued yesterday.
The statement also urged members of the media to sign in as #AtTheEdge instead of their own names at the registration desk when attending news conferences and media events as a show of support for their colleagues in the two publications.
Besides demanding for immediate removal of the suspension, the group also urged the government to repeal the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Official Secrets Act and Sedition Act, which it says are “laws which have been abused to stifle freedom of press and expression in Malaysia.”
The publisher of The Edge Media Group has been served with a notice of suspension by the Home Ministry of its two flagship publications for three months starting tomorrow, with a possible revocation of the licences if it does not comply.
Meanwhile, former cabinet minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz said yesterday that the suspension of The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily is like a knee-jerk reaction meant to divert attention from the real issues at hand.
“While freedom of speech must have parameters determined by factors such as decency, respect for the religious beliefs of others, and the rights of the majority, it is important that media is not unduly penalised, not for going beyond those parameters… but for reporting what some determine to be unsavoury,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
PKR president Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the suspension is part of a larger crackdown by Putrajaya against the freedom of expression.
“Radio stations and online news sites have been cautioned, and journalists have been arrested and investigated for sedition – only because they were doing what they rightfully should do: report the news,” she said.
“And let us not forget the many more politicians, activists, and even a cartoonist who are being prosecuted under the archaic Sedition Act for merely asserting their freedom of expression,” she added.
Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, the brother of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, also took to his Instagram account to condemn the suspension of the two publications.
“I condemn the suspension and my thoughts go to all affected staff. The Edge is a pillar of our business community – big role in keeping us informed, honest and competitive,” Nazir, who is CIMB group chairman, said in his posting.
The Edge Media Group CEO and publisher Ho Kay has said they will challenge the suspension in court and will file for a judicial review tomorrow.