Malaysiakini and The Star raided again

(NST) – News portal Malaysiakini’s and The Star’s offices were raided for the second time by police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) this evening.

City Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad said the team seized a laptop at each office and confiscated related documents.

“The team went to the respective offices at about 3pm. At Malaysiakini’s office, we recorded statements from two journalists named Hafiz Yatim and Koh Jun Lin.

Meanwhile, at The Star’s office, the team also recorded a statement from a journalist, Nicholas Cheng,” he said in a statement today adding that the seized items would be sent to MCMC’s forensic unit to be analyzed.

The case is being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code which relates to defamation and carries a two-year jail term, a fine, or both upon conviction.

It is believed that the raid is linked to Malaysiakini’s report on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor who was transferred out of MACC’s special operations division.

On Friday, the team recorded a statement from the news portal’s editor-in-chief, Steven Gan and also a journalist from The Star.

The team left at about 8pm, having seized a computer at Malaysiakini’s office. The news portal and the Star Online, last Monday reported that MACC deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Shazalee Abdul Khairi was transferred.

Initially, Attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali denied that the officer, Ahmad Shazalee, was transferred out of the MACC.

However, last Wednesday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri confirmed that Ahmad Shazalee has been transferred internally.