Raid on magazine slammed
(The Straits Times) – MEDIA rights campaigners on Wednesday condemned the seizure of hundreds of copies of a new political cartoon magazine and a raid on its offices, saying it was an assault on free speech.
Home ministry officials on Tuesday confiscated 408 copies of the inaugural issue of 'Gedung Kartun' shortly after the bi-weekly magazine hit the newsstands, the editor and a ministry official told AFP.
Zainal Abidin Othman, the home ministry's chief enforcement officer in central Selangor state, said the magazine was confiscated because it has not yet received an official permit under Malaysia's strict media licensing scheme.
However, editor Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque disputed that claim and said the seizure of the inaugural edition – which had a caricature of Prime Minister Najib Razak on the front cover – was politically motivated.
'Our permit was approved two weeks ago. We were told of the decision verbally and given the permit serial number, we are just waiting for the official letter,' he told AFP.
The caricature linked the premier to the sensational 2006 murder of a Mongolian model who was the lover of his former adviser – a case in which Mr Najib has repeatedly denied any involvement or knowledge.
The publication also carried cartoons on the recent mysterious death of a political aide to an opposition legislator, as well as a crackdown on a massive rally against controversial internal security laws.
'This is politically motivated… I don't think (Najib) practises what he preaches when he said media should be given more freedom,' Mr Zulkiflee said.
Media watchdogs Centre for Independent Journalism and Writers Alliance for Media Independence condemned the move, saying it showed the government was using licensing laws to 'arbitrarily' curb freedom of expression.
'The confiscation smacks of harassment and censorship of discussion of current issues,' the groups said in a joint statement.
Reporters Without Borders ranks Malaysia 132 out of 173 on its global press freedom index, and says the government-linked mainstream media are 'often compelled to ignore or to play down the many events organised by the opposition.'
