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PKR paper goes ahead with publication
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Monday, 12 July 2010 06:31
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KUALA LUMPUR – The newspaper run by Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) went ahead with publication despite being suspended by the government, doling out free copies that were snapped up like hot cakes here today.
The paper Suara Keadilan resumed publication with a tweak to its name, dropping the word "Suara".
PKR Youth had earlier said it would distribute the paper free to the public from 8am today at the Masjid Jamek LRT station here and urged the public and members of the media except Utusan Malaysia to show up in a display of solidarity.
Four hundred free copies were snapped up by the public within 20 minutes after PKR Youth, led by Youth information chief Lee Kai Loon, started distributing them from 8.45am. It said members of the public were asking how they could get a copy of the newspaper after the free batch were all given out.
The 24-page newspaper is normally sold at RM2 in the peninsula and RM3 in Sabah and Sarawak.
PKR's argument
Critics have slammed the crackdown on the PKR organ as an attempt to silence free speech and muzzle the opposition in its attempt to reach out to voters amid speculation of a snap election.
"Yes, the latest issue has hit the streets. We feel the government has not banned the newspaper. It only has not renewed the printing permit," PKR lawmaker Tian Chua said yesterday.
"We have the right to circulate information. We are a political party and it is our role to provide different perspectives," he said in a Channel NewsAsia report.
The paper ran into trouble after the authorities said it violated publishing laws with a report this month which claimed a government agency is bankrupt.
The Home Ministry, which oversees Malaysia's newspapers, said it would not renew Suara Keadilan's permit - which expired last Wednesday - as it was not satisfied with the paper's explanation for the allegedly inaccurate report.
The newspaper has a circulation of 100,000 copies and highlights political issues.
Tian Chua, PKR's strategic director, said the government was trying to silence criticism and intimidate opposition supporters.
"We believe we are right in what we are doing," he said.
Risk in defiance
Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, a minister in the prime minister's department, said authorities would act against PKR for defying the order.
"We will take action. We are clamping down on lies, not free speech," he told AFP.
The opposition scored unprecedented gains in elections in 2008, which saw it claim five states and a third of parliamentary seats. The next election is not officially due until 2013 but pundits say it could be held next year.
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Last Updated on Monday, 12 July 2010 11:37 |
