GEORGE TOWN, Oct 31 – DAP Secretary-general Lim Guan Eng hold a press conference in Penang here on Thursday said the federal government was clearly in denial as it had brushed off international watchdog Human Rights Watch’s report on the alleged abuse of laws to criminalise peaceful expression in the country.
“I would like to urge the Federal Government and the Communication Ministry to engage with Human Rights Watch, unless they have ‘something to hide’,” said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng when asked to comment on a news report “Human Rights Watch report exaggerated, says communication minister” which published on Oct 27.
Meanwhile, Lim also said that there had been instances of newspapers being suppressed earlier this year which citing the ban of two publications under The Edge Media Group namely The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily that had reported extensively on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal currently gripping the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The two publications that was under The Edge Media Group had been suspended for three months by the Home Ministry which started in July 2015. The suspension was revoked on September 2015 by the High Court after The Edge Media Group took the suspension to court.
“Besides that, Penang State Government was also giving the people free public Free WiFi with improving to high speeds since October 21, 2015. We are committed to growing the economy with high speed Internet while we celebrate freedom and peaceful expression,” said Lim.
“In additional, Penang was also the the first state in Malaysia who providing 50 high-speed Wifi hotspots in the Heritage and Komtar areas in George Town. That is the contrast between Penang and Putrajaya which the Communication and Multimedia Minister who prefer lower broadband speeds in Malaysia. We let the people decide which is better,” he said.
