The Malaysian government has again rejected Malaysiakini’s application for a permit to publish a daily newspaper.
Although the courts have twice ruled that the independent news portal has the right to publish, the Home Ministry informed Malaysiakini that the rejection was because it “often causes controversy” by publishing news that could “distress” the people. The Ministry also claimed that its reports “could cause hatred towards national leaders”.
The Home Ministry identified five ‘contentious’ reports which appeared on Malaysiakini’s Bahasa Malaysia website, including a compilation of readers’ comments and an article on the Prime Minister and his wife using the government’s private jet during a visit to Europe.
Read here for full details.