Cops arrest 3 TMI editors for sedition over hudud report linked to rulers

(Malay Mail Online) – Three editors from news portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI) are now custody after nearly a dozen policemen and officers from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) raided its Petaling Jaya office this evening.

The news portal’s lawyer Syahredzan Johan (pic) confirmed that managing editor Lionel Morais, Bahasa news editor Amin Shah Iskandar and features and analysis editor Zulkifli Sulong were arrested under the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Section 233 deals with “improper use of network facilities or network services”.

“Confirmed arrested,” Syahredzan said in a text message when asked about the status of the three editors.

Syahredzan also confirmed that the three will be detained in the Dang Wangi police headquarters tonight.

Last week, BN MPs called for legal action against a news portal owned by The Edge Media Group over its report claiming the Conference of Rulers had objected to PAS’s proposed legislative amendments on hudud.

The lawmakers, who included Tanjong Karang MP Datuk Seri Noh Omar, Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani and Lenggong MP Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, said that TMI had behaved “irresponsibly” in its report on the issue.

They also accused the portal of reporting “twisted facts” in another article on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s speech on the Sedition Act during yesterday’s Police Day celebration.

The Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal had also sought a police investigation into the matter after denying issuing such statement on hudud.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar updated on Twitter on the same day saying that the police will question TMI editors over the news portal’s allegedly “inaccurate and confusing” reports.

On Friday, one of TMI’s columnist was investigated for an article critical of police action on #KitaLawan rally participants.

It is understood that Khoo Ying Hooi, a Universiti Malaya academic, is being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation over an article titled “Who owns the police?”