Dozens of journalists protested on Saturday in Malaysia against the suspension of a weekly magazine, urging the southeast Asian nation to allow greater press freedom. The Heat stopped publication last month after the Home Ministry suspended it, saying it had violated its printing permit as a weekly business magazine and failed to respond to the ministry to explain the matter.
Some 50 journalists and activists, wearing red and chanting ‘free the media’, held an hour-long protest in the capital Kuala Lumpur where they urged the government to lift the suspension and stop controlling the press.
‘This is not just about the suspension of The Heat. It’s about the freedom of the press,’ activist Ambiga Sreenevasan said in a speech.
‘It is about fighting for the rights of the people, the rights of the people to speak and to receive information.’
The Heat, which was launched last year, denied it has not responded to the ministry’s letters sent to it in late November and early December.
Some 50 journalists and activists, wearing red and chanting ‘free the media’, held an hour-long protest in the capital Kuala Lumpur where they urged the government to lift the suspension and stop controlling the press.
‘This is not just about the suspension of The Heat. It’s about the freedom of the press,’ activist Ambiga Sreenevasan said in a speech.
‘It is about fighting for the rights of the people, the rights of the people to speak and to receive information.’
The Heat, which was launched last year, denied it has not responded to the ministry’s letters sent to it in late November and early December.