KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 – The Home Ministry stands by its decision to suspend the publishing permits of The Edge publications for three months as they could be detrimental to the nation. It said the publishing permits were suspended as the published contents could alarm public opinion or were likely to be prejudicial to public order or interest, and national interest or security.
However, the ministry in a written reply to a question from Zainudin Ismail (BN-Jelebu) said this issued at the Dewan Rakyat here on Thursday this case is still on and under the purview of the Court of Appeal. Zainudin wanted to know the action that had been taken and would be taken against Sarawak Report, The Edge and Wall Street Journal (WSJ) publications and their publishers for allegedly publishing false and malicious news and without using valid sources.
However, no replies were given on further action to be taken by the government against Sarawak Report and WSJ. On July 24 this year, the Home Ministry decided to suspend the publishing permits of two publications of The Edge Communication Sdn Bhd (The Edge), namely The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily, effective July 27.
In a statement, the ministry also said that there were two of the publications were suspended as the headings and reports could create negative public perception of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), and hence towards the government and national leadership.
It said such articles were inappropriate as the company (1MDB) was being investigated by a probe team comprising various agencies. On Sept 23, the Home Ministry filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision to strike out the Home Minister’s decision to suspend the two publications.
At the Dewan Rakyat sitting here yesterday, Zainudin also asked on the action taken by the government against individuals mentioned in the admission by former Petrosaudi International executive Xavier Andre Justo, as being involved in the buying of stolen information on 1MDB.
With regard to this issue, the ministry said the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) had initiated investigation on Sentul Report 12685/2015 dated July 18, 2015 under Section 124(B) and 124(J) of the Penal Code. It said PDRM does not wish to reveal any information on this matter as it could harm the on-going investigation.
