(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned by the 12 January 2000 arrests of Zulkifli Sulong, the editor of “Harakah”, the biweekly newspaper of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), and Chia Lim Thye, the owner of the company that prints “Harakah” and formally holds the newspaper’s publishing license. Police charged Zulkifli and Chia with sedition […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned by the 12 January 2000 arrests of Zulkifli Sulong, the editor of “Harakah”, the biweekly newspaper of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), and Chia Lim Thye, the owner of the company that prints “Harakah” and formally holds the newspaper’s publishing license.
Police charged Zulkifli and Chia with sedition for publishing a statement criticizing the government’s handling of the ongoing sodomy trial of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The statement, which also circulated over the Internet, appeared in the 2 August 1999, edition of “Harakah”.
Both men were released on bail but are reportedly due to appear before a Malaysian Sessions Court on 13 January, where they intend to plead not guilty. Zulkifli faces up to six months in prison if convicted, and told reporters he feared the newspaper could be suspended.
The 12 January arrests come shortly after the Ministry of Home Affairs warned “Harakah” that under the terms of its publishing license, the popular biweekly newspaper could not be sold to the general public, but only to PAS members. “Harakah”‘s circulation has grown four-fold, to about 350,000 copies, since the arrest of Anwar in September 1998. Many political observers credit “Harakah” for contributing to a significant improvement in PAS’s performance in the November 1999 general elections.
Local journalists fear that the arrests of Zulkifli and Chia, coupled with the 12 January arrests of two opposition party leaders on unrelated sedition charges, could signal the start of a broad crackdown against those who question the policies and practices of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s administration.
In a letter CPJ sent to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on 10 January, the organization expressed its concern over threats made by the Ministry of Home Affairs to shut down “Harakah”, as well as the pro-opposition publications “Detik”, “Wasilah”, “Tamadun”, and “Eksklusif”. CPJ views the arrests of Zulkifli and Chia as yet another assault on the fundamental principles of press freedom.
Malaysia already enforces an onerous regime of press licensing that has fostered a timid mainstream media controlled by allies of the ruling coalition. The handful of alternative voices allowed to publish, of which “Harakah” is the leading representative, are a vital source of news and information. Sadly, CPJ is forced to conclude that the recent actions against “Harakah” demonstrate Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government’s determination to keep opposition voices from reaching a broader public.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the prime minister:
- noting that most democratic governments and international press organizations believe that journalists should never face imprisonment for what they write or publish
- suggesting that the prosecution of Zulkifli and Chia would send a message of intolerance that would surely chill the climate for independent journalism in Malaysia
- urging his government to drop the charges against Zulkifli and Chia immediately and end the campaign of intimidation and harassment that is currently underway against “Harakah”
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.
For further information, please contact A. Lin Neumann, CPJ’s Asia consultant, in Bangkok (phone: +66 1 860 8106 or 66 2 653 7393; e-mail: lin_neumann@csi.com), or Kavita Menon, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in New York (phone: +212 465 9344, ext. 140; e-mail: kmenon@cpj.org).
