Jingga: Lift suspension of weekly
An NGO has handed over a memorandum to the Home Ministry seeking to lift the suspension order on the weekly newspaper, The Heat.
PUTRAJAYA:Jingga 13 Malaysia, an organisation closely linked to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), has demanded that the government lift the suspension on the weekly newspaper, The Heat.
Jingga 13 Malaysia handed over the memorandum to Home Ministry officer Hashima Nik Jaafar at Putrajaya this morning.
Last week, the ministry suspended The Heat without giving any reasons. However, industry sources said the suspension was because the newspaper ran an extensive coverage on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor’s expenditure during their overseas travels.
A ministry spokesman had told the Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ) that the newspaper was suspended because it had violated provisions in its printing permit.
He also told AWSJ that the suspension was not linked to a recent story the newspaper ran on expenditures incurred by Najib and Rosmah.
Jingga 13 Malaysia co-ordinator Nikson Abdillah told reporters that suspending a newspaper was undemocratic and certain quarters were unhappy as they wanted fair reporting.
“Why is that no action is taken against the mainstream media for seditious statements,” he asked
He said questioning Najib’s expenditure was the people’s right because it involved taxpayers’ money.
He added that the report was fair and would not distrub the harmony in the country.
“The media must be given the freedom to reveal the truth,” he added.
He urged Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to respond to the memorandum as soon as possible.
The demands in the memorandum are:
- to lift suspension on the Heat newspaper immediately;
- To investigate police brutality towards media personal during Bersin 3.0; and
- To openly seek forgiveness regarding the restriction policy for media freedom.