Home minister must now give good reasons for rejecting newspaper permits, say lawyers
(TMI) – The Home Minister must now give good reasons to reject any application for a newspaper publishing permit, as the High Court has ruled that publishing a newspaper was a constitutional right and not a privilege accorded by Putrajaya, say constitutional lawyers.
They said that following the ruling, the minister no longer had the absolute discretion to reject applications on grounds of national security, public order and morality.
That High Court decision was upheld by a three-man Court of Appeal bench last October and surprisingly Putrajaya did not file a leave application in the Federal Court to appeal the verdict.
Online publisher Mkini Dotcom had applied for a permit under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 to publish a daily named “Malaysiakini” to be sold in the Klang Valley, but the ministry rejected the application in 2010 and the company had challenged that decision.
Judge Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, who is now in the Court of Appeal, had ruled that the issuance of a publishing permit was a right guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
Abang Iskandar said the minister should have given reasons for rejecting Malaysiakini’s application as it also breached the right to livelihood and equality.
Following the court ruling, the company had the option to file a fresh application for the minister’s consideration.
Lawyer K. Shanmuga said Abang Iskandar’s 52-page written ground was very sound and this was unanimously affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
“The government did not take the matter to the Federal Court either. So, the judgment of the High Court is of high authority,” he said.
