Malaysia
bans weekly newspaper, rights group says
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (AFP) - The
Malaysian government has banned a weekly newspaper which specialises in
reporting political issues, a rights group said Friday.
The Aliran rights group said the Home
Ministry's ban on the Malay-language tabloid Eksklusif (Exclusive)
"perhaps reflects the government's contempt of the very notion of press
freedom."
The Malaysiakini online newspaper also
reported the ban and quoted a ministry official as saying the action was taken
on the grounds of "imbalanced reporting."
No one at the ministry or from Eksklusif was
immediately available for comment. The ministry has acted against other
publications seen as pro-opposition in the past but denies any political
motive.
Malaysiakini quoted Tengku Mahmood Tengku
Ismail, head of the ministry's publications unit, as saying Eksklusif's permit,
which expired in April, was not renewed because of "imbalanced
reporting" and non-compliance with various regulations.
He said the ministry would consider the
paper's application if it sought a permit next year.
Malaysiakini said Eksklusif had suspended
publication from April 15 when its permit was not renewed. Since then it had
reportedly appealed three times for a new permit but had been rejected.
The online paper said Eksklusif hit a peak
circulation of 100,000 before its permit expired.
Malaysiakini said the youth magazine
Al-Wasilah also had its permit cancelled last month.
It added: "It is believed that the ban
on the monthly teen magazine is due to its political coverage which has an
opposition slant."
Aliran said the ban on Eksklusif and other
publications "has reinforced public perceptions that the government is
determined to clamp down on publications that are seen to be critical,
investigative and independent."
If Eksklusif were banned for unbalanced
reporting, the rights group said, the same sanction should apply to mainstream
newspapers which were guilty of one-sided reporting.
The home ministry, which has sweeping powers
over the press under the licensing system, earlier this year closed down
another publication, Detik, seen as critical of the government.
In March it severely curbed circulation of
the newspaper of the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia. Harakah's publishing
permit was renewed for only two issues a month instead of two a week as
previously.
Harakah's editor Zulkifli Sulong is
currently on trial for sedition, punishable by up to three years' jail, for an
article on the trial of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
The US-based Committee to Protect
Journalists in May named Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as one of the world's
top ten enemies of the press.