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The Printing Presses and Publications Act
Malaysia's 1984 Printing Presses and Publications Act requires all print media to obtain a permit and renew it annually. The Home Affairs Ministry can restrict or ban a publication outright if it is considered "likely to be prejudicial to public order, morality, [or] security"; likely to "alarm public opinion"; or likely to "be prejudicial to . . . national interest." (Article 7(1).) If the Minister refuses to grant or renew a permit, no legal remedy or judicial review is available: "Any decision of the Minister . . . to suspend a license or permit shall be final and shall not be called in question by any court on any ground whatsoever," and "[n]o person shall be given an opportunity to be heard with regard to . . . suspension of the license or permit" according to the act. (Article 13A-13B.)
In addition, maliciously publishing false news is a crime under Article 8A of the law. Malice is presumed-the defendant has the burden of proving that he or she took "reasonable measures to verify the truth of the news." The trial of Irene Fernandez, currently the longest in Malaysian history, is for charges under this provision.
Individuals may be arrested without a warrant (Article 20) and, if convicted, punished with up to three years imprisonment, fines of up to 20,000 ringgit (about U.S. $5,263 as of date), or both (Article 8A).
Human Rights Watch urges that the Printing Presses and Publications Act be repealed or amended in line with international standards to prevent it from being used to repress or restrict freedom of expression.
Since the November 1999 elections, the Malaysian Home Ministry has used the act to intimidate the press, and restrict newspapers and magazines associated with the opposition.
Harakah
Harakah is the newspaper of opposition Islamic party PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia). On March 1, 2000, the Home Ministry restricted the paper's license to allow for publication only twice a month. Harakah was previously authorized to publish two issues per week. According to Energy Communications and Multimedia Minister Leo Moggie, the online edition of Harakah also will be limited to two issues per month, although the Ministry has repeatedly stated that the government will not interfere with the Internet.
The Ministry's interference with Harakah began last November, when the paper's coverage of the Anwar trial dramatically boosted its sales. On December 24, 1999, the Ministry accused Harakah of violating its license by selling the paper to non-PAS members and ordered the paper to stop selling copies at public newsstands. The government also brought legal action against Harakah editor Zulkifli Sulong and publisher Chia Lim Thye for allegedly violating the Sedition Act.
Detik
Detik is a privately financed magazine which wrote mainly about domestic politics and which criticized the government. On March 27, 2000, the Home Affairs Ministry refused to renew the magazine's publishing permit of Detik on the grounds that it had not printed the publisher's address on the magazine, that it had placed the publishing permit under another publisher without the ministry's consent, and that it had appointed the editor without the ministry's consent.
Al Wasilah
Al Wasilah, a monthly youth magazine affiliated with Detik, has been ordered to give the ministry reasons why its license should be renewed after it expires in August 2000. The Home Affairs Ministry alleges that the publication used another person's publishing permit.
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