KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 – The Home Ministry failed in its bid to stay a High Court order that lifted the printing suspension of The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily from resuming publication, pending the outcome of its appeal. High Court judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad disallowed the application by the home minister to temporarily stay the lifting of the three-month suspension pending appeal against the lifting order by the same court.
Senior federal counsel Alice Loke Yee Ching who acted for the minister and the ministry’s secretary-generalsaid High Court judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad ruled that there was no special circumstances to grant the stay. She told reporters outside the court room in Kuala Lumpur said the judge said the publisher must not be deprived of the fruit of their successful litigation.
Loke said Asmabi also felt that there would be no harm caused if both the newspapers continued to be published. Asmabi made the ruling in chamber with ordered the minister and the ministry’s secretary-general to pay RM4,000 in cost to The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd, the publisher of the two said publications – The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily.
Loke added that the Court of Appeal has not fixed a date to hear their appeal. She said the ministry would pursue its appeal to the Court of Appeal although the three-month suspension of the newspapers expired on October 26. Counsel Darryl Goon appeared for The Edge Communications. On Sept 21, the High Court quashed the ministry’s order to suspend The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily for three months from July 27.
The court found that the letter from the ministry did not provide particulars of the suspension and did not state which article was alleged to be prejudiced or likely to be prejudicial to public order. Among the reasons given for the suspension was that the publications’ reporting on 1Malaysia Development Bhd(1MDB) was based on doubtful and unverified information, which might alarm the public, and could be prejudicial to public order and national interest.
