Hundreds took to the streets for press freedom

KUALA LUMPUR - Members of the media, public, activists and politicians on both sides of the divide rallied in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (Aug 8) for press freedom after the Malaysian government suspended two publications under The Edge Media Group for three months over its coverage of a financial scandal.

The Coalition for Press Freedom organised the rally as part of a campaign to protest the suspension and to call for the abolishment of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 that regulates print publications.



The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily's publishing permits were suspended by the Home Ministry from Jul 24 on grounds that their reports on financial and corruption scandals plaguing debt-ridden state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) were "prejudicial or likely prejudicial to public order, security or likely to alarm public opinion or is likely to be prejudicial to public and national interest".

Aside from the media, politicians and activists were present, including former UMNO MP Saifuddin Abdullah and former bar council president Ambiga Sreenevasan. The public made up a significant number of the crowd too. One member of the public, Jeffrey Wong, explained he was there to show solidarity with the media.

"With the recent events in our country, without The Edge I don't think we will have that kind of information on 1MDB," he said. "It's very important to us. The public should know what our government is doing especially with taxpayers’ money."

Another rally participant, Dipendra Raj, said he disagreed with the government's decision to suspend The Edge's publications - regardless of the credibility of the reports.

"If the story's not true, there are options and avenues available for any party that's aggrieved to take action,” he said. “But in the meantime they should not be silenced they should not be shut down. Neither should they be penalised for just telling a story.”