KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 ― A coalition of media groups has asked the public to join its “#808” march this Saturday, and called for the end to the suspension of two newspapers and restrictions on whistleblower site Sarawak Report.
The Coalition for Press Freedom (CPF) also urged the public wear blue and black to represent the impact of alleged “attacks” on press freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of information in the walk from Pasar Seni to the Bar Council headquarters.
“If people are not made to live in fear of speaking their thoughts, and if those in authority are more transparent with their work, then we will all be working towards a society where open, respectful and constructive debate can take place,” CPF said in a statement.
The coalition also suggested Putrajaya to make public the drafts of new Internet laws being proposed, in addition to holding dialogues and having willingness to accept recommendations.
“Then there will be no room for anyone to declare the government ‘guilty before trial’,” it added.
The CPF is a loose coalition made of the Movement of Angry Media, Center for Independent Journalism, Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia and Reporters San Frontieres.
The Home Ministry had suspended the printing permits of The Edge Financial Daily and The Edge Weekly for three months, claiming its reports of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) were “prejudicial or likely to be prejudicial to public order, security or likely to alarm public opinion or is likely to be prejudicial to public and national interest”.
Citing “national stability,” the MCMC had last month ordered all Internet service providers in Malaysia to block access to Sarawak Report’s website, pending a multi-agency taskforce’s investigation on corruption claims involving the controversial 1MDB.
