**Updates IFEX alerts of 27 and 3 March, 21, 13, 12, 11 and 6 January 2000** (CPJ/IFEX) – In a 29 March 2000 letter to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, CPJ expressed its alarm at the effective banning of the independent bimonthly magazine “Detik”, whose publishing license has been cancelled by the Malaysian government. On 27 […]
**Updates IFEX alerts of 27 and 3 March, 21, 13, 12, 11 and 6 January 2000**
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 29 March 2000 letter to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, CPJ expressed its alarm at the effective banning of the independent bimonthly magazine “Detik”, whose publishing license has been cancelled by the Malaysian government.
On 27 March, the Home Ministry officially notified “Detik” that its publication license would not be renewed. The license had expired in December, forcing “Detik” to suspend publication and suffer major financial losses while awaiting action on its application for renewal. Under Malaysia’s Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984, all publications are required to renew their publishing licenses annually. The Home Ministry oversees publication permits in Malaysia, and there is no judicial review of ministerial decisions on media licensing.
According to “Detik”‘s editor-in-chief, Ahmad Lutfi Othman, another magazine, “al-Wasilah”, which is part of the same group, will likely also lose its permit to publish when it comes up for renewal in August. “We hope the ministry will be more rational in the future. We may have criticized the government occasionally but we never intended to break the law,” Lutfi told reporters after the Home Ministry announced its decision.
The action against “Detik”, which has a reputation in Malaysia as a critical but independent magazine, follows the government’s 1 March decision to restrict the circulation of “Harakah”, a popular opposition party newspaper, from twice weekly to two editions a month. “Harakah” has been a popular source of news and commentary on the ongoing trial of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the prime minister:
- stating that Malaysia’s harsh licensing regime and other press controls violate internationally recognized standards of free expression
- noting that the recent actions against “Detik” and “Harakah” indicate an apparent unwillingness on the part of the Malaysian government to tolerate any alternative views in popular media
- stating that by restricting the press, his country is doing a disservice to its people, and setting strict limits on the public discourse that is essential to democratic nations
- calling on His Excellency to lift the ban on “Detik” and to allow all media in Malaysia to operate freely and openly
Appeals To
His Excellency Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
Prime Minister
Jabatan Perdana Menteri
Jalan Dato’ Onn
Kuala Lumpur 50502, Malaysia
Fax: +60 3 238 3784
E-mail page: http://www.smpke.jpm.my/fr_fback.htm
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
