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Pro-opposition newspapers seized in Malaysia
Associated Press - May 25, 2010
Julia Zappei, Kuala Lumpur – Malaysian authorities seized more than 6,000 copies of a pro-opposition newspaper amid a dispute over whether it flouted the country's strict publication laws, officials said on Tuesday.
The seizure is certain to spark fresh complaints by opposition and media rights activists that the Malaysian government curtails publications that criticize its policies.
The Home Ministry said in a statement late Monday it confiscated 6,108 copies of Kabar Era Pakatan (Alliance Era News), from newsstands nationwide because it had no publication permit. All Malaysian publications require government-approved licenses that must be renewed annually.
Home Ministry official Abdul Razak Abdul Latif said the publisher had applied for a permit with a different name and layout. He said the ministry had no issue with the content.
"The mock-up they sent us is totally different from the publication Kabar Era Pakatan," Abdul Razak said. He added that the permit was issued to a newspaper simply named Kabar (News).
The newspaper's editor, Mat Zahari Ali, insisted it received a permit in December. He acknowledged that the approved name for the publication was only "Kabar," but denied it broke any rules because "Era Pakatan" was a motto that should not require government consent.
About 30,000 copies of the publication hit newsstands for the first time in April. It has since been published every two weeks, and its fifth issue is expected in early June, but it might reduce the font size for "Era Pakatan" to escape trouble with authorities, Mat Zahari said.
Mat Zahari accused authorities of trying to shut down the newspaper and deter vendors from selling it because of its support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's three-party People's Alliance, which will contest elections scheduled to be held before mid-2013.
Malaysia's main opposition parties all have their own publications, but their circulation has been tightly controlled over the years and is often limited to members only.
Most mainstream Malaysian newspapers and TV stations are owned or linked to parties in the ruling coalition. They also need government licenses to operate, which the opposition says results in biased reports to avoid angering the government.
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