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Monday, July 20, 2015

NGOs demand MCMC unblock Sarawak Report

There should be reference to a proper law authorising such blocking of website content and the right to be heard.
sarawak-report
KUALA LUMPUR: Two NGOs, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4), have added their voices to the growing chorus which have condemned the blocking of the UK-based whistleblower website, the Sarawak Report, run by Sarawak-born investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown.
It’s not the done thing to clamp down on free speech and freedom of information by blocking access to the Sarawak Report “and threatening legal suits on other media outlets, publishing reports or questioning the 1MDB”, said C4 Chairman Simon Sipaun.
“The blocking of the Sarawak Report without a clear, legitimate purpose and without reference to a proper law authorising such blocking of content was a breach of the guarantee to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution,” said CIJ Directors Jac Kee and Sonia Randhawa in a statement. “A 2011 report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression views the blocking of content on the internet gravely.”
CIJ was also renewing its call for the focus to be on investigating the actual issues at hand. It rejected further regulation and censorship of the Internet as a way to manage the issues. “CIJ calls on the MCMC to respect the right to freedom of expression and to cease its blocking of Sarawak Report.”
If indeed sections 211 and 233 of the MCMC Act have been breached, added CIJ, a case could be brought against the Sarawak Report. “They should not be arbitrarily blocked. They should be given an opportunity to defend themselves.”
It’s better for the various authorities, including the police and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to probe Jho Low’s connection to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, and to focus on the money trail, added Sipaun and C4 Executive Director Cynthia Gabriel.
“Only when these questions have been answered, can the trust deficit be addressed and confidence in the Najib administration and public institutions be restored.”

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