(SEAPA/IFEX) – SEAPA views with grave concern a landmark suit in Malaysia, filed on 4 January 2007 by a major news group and its top executives against two bloggers for “defamation” and “malicious falsehoods”. “We see this case as going beyond the interests of private entities. It will impact on Malaysians’ access to diverse and […]
(SEAPA/IFEX) – SEAPA views with grave concern a landmark suit in Malaysia, filed on 4 January 2007 by a major news group and its top executives against two bloggers for “defamation” and “malicious falsehoods”.
“We see this case as going beyond the interests of private entities. It will impact on Malaysians’ access to diverse and independent news, commentary, and information, and will also adversely affect the Internet as a medium for free expression in a country where much of the mainstream press is owned and influenced by political parties and government itself,” said SEAPA Executive Director Roby Alampay on 19 January.
While the plaintiffs – the New Straits Times Press (NSTP), its Deputy Chairperson Kalimullah Hassan, Group Editor-in-Chief Hishamuddin Aun and former group editor Brenden Pereira – have the right to seek redress against any harm done to their reputation, “their suit against the bloggers attacks the burgeoning movement of independent writing itself,” said Alampay.
The two bloggers being sued, Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin Attan, have been actively exposing ethical issues pertaining to the traditional media that, because of government control, offer little room for dissenting views.
Ooi has been blogging critically and controversially about the government and public figures on his “Screenshots” blog since 2003, winning the Reporters Without Borders Freedom Blog Award for Asia soon after he began.
Ahirudin was the executive editor of the “Malay Mail”, a newspaper under the NSTP, who started his “Rocky’s Bru” blog after leaving the news group following a financial and structural revamp in early 2006. He has been the president of the National Press Club since 2003.
An 11 January exparte injunction has also been issued, ordering Ooi to remove 13 allegedly defamatory postings ab out the plaintiffs from his blog by 17 January.
Ooi has also been barred from publishing the same or similar postings until the defamation suit against him is settled. An interparte hearing of the application for an injunction against Ooi will be heard on 30 January.
In the suit against Ahirudin, NSTP Chief Executive Officer Syed Faisal Syed Albar is an additional plaintiff. An injunction ordering the removal of 48 allegedly defamatory postings from Ahirudin’s blog will be heard on 25 January.
SEAPA is concerned that the lawsuits and injunctions will have a detrimental effect upon open public debate and legitimate criticism in matters of public interest. Freedom of expression is a democratic feature that has long been suppressed in Malaysia, although a hint of it has emerged in recent years, thanks in large part to the Internet. With the Internet being the focus of the latest lawsuits, however, the boundaries for free speech risk reverting to as they were before.
SEAPA called on the NSTP, as a public entity that often speaks for the Malaysian government, in compliance with the role of “development journalism” relegated to traditional media in the country, to hold itself up to more scrutiny from citizens. SEAPA also urged the aggrieved plaintiffs to respect and uphold the principal of free expression, and to seek less restrictive means to assert their rights.
