In a strongly worded statement issued today, Suaram Executive Director Sevan Doraisamy described the recent raid of the Malaysiakini office as a politically motivated crackdown against free media and freedom of expression.
“There is no basis for any media to be investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998 for choosing to maintain a video coverage of a press conference online.”
He was referring to a video uploaded on KiniTV in July of a press conference by former Batu Kawan Umno Vice-Chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who demanded Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali resign for refusing to prosecute in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad case.
Sevan said the use of the CMA against an individual or organisation for an online item that was created to cover or reflect information or statements made by an individual was “simply absurd”.
“This perverse line of logic suggests that a person can be ‘investigated’ for sharing a third party’s comments and be penalised for that,” Sevan added.
He said Suaram was demanding that the MCMC immediately stop this “absurd practice” as it had serious repercussions in terms of freedom of expression and could set a precedent that may potentially penalise millions of innocent Malaysians who viewed or shared the video online.
“MCMC must stop its attack on freedom of expression and immediately halt its campaign of abusing investigative powers to persecute and harass opinions and critical voices online.”
This is not the first time the offices of Malaysikini have been raided.
On Nov 6 last year, Malaysiakini was raided over a report that a deputy public prosecutor was transferred out of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) special operatives division.