|
|
Change Your Life! |
Malaysian opposition tabloid expands fight against press curbs |
|
News
|
May 4, 2000 KUALA LUMPUR, MAY 3 (AP) - Muzzled by press curbs, Malaysia's top opposition newspaper announced Wednesday it was sprucing up its website by adding video images even as it launched a court battle against the restrictions.
Hishamuddin Yahya, managing director of the popular Harakah tabloid, said his publication had spent over 20,000 ringgit (dlrs 5,263) so that visitors to its website could watch exclusive interviews with opposition leaders.
It had also launched a court case against Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to overturn a move by the government to curtail Harakah's sales, Hishamuddin said.
In March, authorities revoked Harakah's permit and restricted it to only two editions a month. The newspaper, previously sold twice a week, is published by the fundamentalist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, or PAS.
"This was a naked attempt to curb the freedom of speech and expression and therefore stifle democratic processes," Hishamuddin told reporters. "We have no choice but to take the matter to court."
All publications in Malaysia require an annual permit from the Home Ministry, which is headed by Abdullah.
Harakah moved to counter the government restrictions by launching its own website, which is updated daily.
Hishamuddin said Harakah has appealed to the High Court to quash the March government order. No date has been set for a hearing.
The Home Ministry contends that Harakah must be punished for openly selling copies on newsstands. Harakah's printing permit bans it from being bought by people who are not members of PAS.
Harakah's sales increased several-fold following a wave of anti-government protests in 1998 after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked his popular deputy, Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is now serving a six-year jail term for corruption and on trial for sodomy.
Harakah sold an average of 300,000 copies last year, but now sells only 250,000 per issue after authorities began raiding newsstands and issuing stern warnings against PAS.
Published mainly in Malay with several pages in English, Harakah is among the few pro-opposition papers in Malaysia, where the mainstream dailies are tightly controlled.
Earlier this year, authorities banned two other anti-government publications -- the monthly Detik magazine and the weekly Eksklusif newspaper.
On Wednesday, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists named Mahathir as one of its top ten "Enemies of the Press" for the second consecutive year.
The CPJ accused Mahathir of controlling most major media in this Southeast Asian nation for the past two decades and curbing the opposition press.
|