Closure of news site underscores Malaysia’s press freedom crisis amid 1MDB scandal
On March 14, The Malaysian Insider abruptly closed its editorial operations less than a month after the state media regulator, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, blocked local access to its news site.
Australian journalists harassed and threatened in Malaysia
Bangkok, March 14, 2016 – Authorities should immediately lift restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of two Australian journalists in Malaysia and drop all legal threats against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Amid financial scandal, Malaysia increases pressure on media
A financial scandal involving a state investment fund created and overseen by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, exposed in turns by investigative journalists, has put a parallel spotlight on the country’s deteriorating press freedom situation. A suggestion by the government’s top lawyer to strengthen the 1972 Official Secrets Act to penalize journalists who decline to…
CPJ urges Obama to prioritize press freedom at ASEAN summit
Dear President Obama: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express our enduring concern about the press freedom situation in Southeast Asia ahead of the summit meeting you will host for regional leaders from February 15 to February 16.
CPJ Announces 2015 International Press Freedom Awards
Awardees from Ethiopia, Malaysia, Paraguay, and Syria New York, September 15, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor journalists from Ethiopia, Malaysia, Paraguay, and Syria with the 2015 International Press Freedom Awards. The journalists have endured death threats, physical attacks, legal action, imprisonment, or exile in the course of their work.
Dogged by fraud allegations, Malaysia targets media
Investigative reporting on alleged mismanagement of a Malaysian state investment fund has triggered a backlash against muckraking media. On Friday, the Home Ministry ordered the suspension of two local news publications, The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily, for three months on the grounds that their reporting on the fund, known as 1Malaysia Development…
Drawing the line: Cartoonists under threat
On January 7, two gunmen burst into the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing eight journalists and bringing into focus the risks cartoonists face. But with the ability of their work to transcend borders and languages, and to simplify complex political situations, the threats faced by cartoonists around the world—who are being imprisoned,…
For clues to censorship in Hong Kong, look to Singapore, not Beijing
When journalists covering pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014, got word that protesters were having problems with cell phone service, it appeared to be a familiar response from governments across the world to dissent.
Malaysia extends sedition law to allow online censorship
Bangkok, April 13, 2015–Malaysia’s parliament on Friday approved amendments to the country’s sedition law, giving the government broad new powers to censor online media, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the legislative amendments and calls on the government to stop using the law to threaten and persecute independent journalists.
Malaysia charges cartoonist with nine counts of sedition for critical tweets
Bangkok, April 3, 2015–Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, also known as Zunar, was charged in court today with nine counts of sedition for critical tweets he wrote in February about a politically sensitive court decision, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malaysian authorities to drop the charges and to cease…