KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — The government should have just sued Sarawak Report instead of blocking it as by doing so, they created an “unmitigated political disaster,” DAP MP Teresa Kok said.
The Seputeh MP added that with Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) move to block access here to the whistleblower site is merely an indication that Putrajaya has a lot more to hide than it has led on.
“If Sarawak Report has published fabricated lies, why can’t the government take legal action against it instead of blocking it?
“I wonder whether any leader in Barisan Nasional have (sic) the courage to tell Najib the truth that the move to block Sarawak Report was an unmitigated political disaster for the Prime Minister, as the move has made the PM look like having too much to hide,” she said in a statement today.
She added that the reasons given by ministers Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai for the blocking of SR, which was to curb the spread of “fabricated” news, was “rubbish” as the move was unnecessary to begin with.
Kok also pointed out that by restricting access to SR’s website, Putrajaya has gone against the Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantee No. 7 which ensures foreign investors that there will be no censorship of the internet.
“Has the government abandoned its no internet censorship guarantee when Malaysia invited foreign investors to invest in Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)?” she questioned.
Kok also urged any Cabinet minister or Barisan Nasional leader to speak out against the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal which, she added, has tarnished the reputation of Malaysia both locally and abroad.
Citing “national stability”, the MCMC on Sunday confirmed that it ordered all Internet service providers in Malaysia to block access to SR’s website, pending a multi-agency taskforce’s investigation into 1MDB.
SR announced yesterday, however, that it had its eye trained on Abdul Rahman and could possibly sue the latter for criminal libel after the minister accused the website of publishing lies and labelled its founder Clare Rewcastle Brown “scum”.
The whistleblower site also said it is was mooting legal recourse against local daily the New Straits Times and other publications that it claims have deliberately reported falsehoods to damage its credibility.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is currently facing allegations by US daily the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) from 1MDB had been funnelled into his bank accounts.
A special task force comprising the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the police, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has been formed to investigate the claims.
Following WSJ’s allegations, Putrajaya has clamped down on local media namely SR as well as local business daily The Edge Financial Daily.
On July 1, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced his ministry had issued a show-cause letter to The Edge for publishing what the government deemed to be unverified news on debt-laden 1MDB, and since then, rumours have spread that the daily would be suspended for six months.
The Home Ministry confirmed yesterday, however, that it has yet to make a decision and is still reviewing the business paper’s response to its show-cause letter.
– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/why-block-sarawak-report-when-you-can-sue-dap-mp-asks-putrajaya#sthash.Eetg5f9X.dpuf