Malaysia / Asia

The Committee to Protect Journalists and a group of Southeast Asian lawmakers have called for the “active engagement” of the regional bloc ASEAN in protecting press freedom and the formation of an inter-parliamentary alliance to safeguard media rights in the region, which includes some of the worst offenders of press freedom. As governments escalate efforts…

Editor’s note: On March 14, the journalist B. Nantha Kumar was charged in a local court for allegedly receiving a bribe of 20,000 ringgit (US$4,500) in return for removing and not uploading articles about a migrant trafficking syndicate. Nantha pleaded not guilty and is out on bail pending trial. He faces up to 20 years in prison…

Bangkok, January 30, 2025—Malaysian authorities must immediately return Malaysiakini’s executive editor RK Anand’s laptop, and stop harassing the independent news site, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. “The police seizure of Malaysiakini executive editor RK Anand’s laptop is a clear and gross violation of press freedom,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative….

Bangkok, April 29, 2024 – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should retract his call on local private companies to take action against Bloomberg news agency for a report on alleged plans to build a casino complex in a troubled real estate development, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Friday, April 26, Anwar referred…

Bangkok, February 9, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malaysian authorities to reverse the decision to sentence British anti-corruption reporter Clare Rewcastle Brown to two years in prison in absentia for criminal defamation over her investigation into a major financial corruption scandal. “Malaysia should scrap the outrageous prison sentence given to Clare Rewcastle Brown…

Bangkok, May 17, 2021 – Malaysian authorities must cease their legal harassment of cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, known as Zunar, and drop any pending charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On May 7, police in the northern state of Kedah summoned Zunar, who publishes his political cartoons on the Malaysiakini news website, and questioned him…

Bangkok, February 19, 2021 – In response to a Malaysian court ruling today fining the Malaysiakini news website 500,000 ringgit (US$123,672), the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Today’s contempt of court ruling holding Malaysiakini responsible for readers’ comments is a de facto attack on the press and sets a worrying precedent for all media outlets…

Bangkok, August 10, 2020 – Malaysian authorities should allow Al-Jazeera journalists to report from the country freely and without harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Malaysian immigration authorities recently declined to renew the visas of reporters Drew Ambrose and Jenni Henderson, both Australian nationals, according to news reports citing Giles Trendle, English managing…

Bangkok, August 4, 2020 – Malaysian police raided Al-Jazeera’s Kuala Lumpur office and seized two computers in an ongoing criminal probe into the global broadcaster’s July 3 report on the government’s treatment of undocumented migrant workers during the COVID-19 crisis, news reports said. Six of Al-Jazeera’s Malaysia-based reporters and staff members are being investigated on criminal charges…

Bangkok, July 13, 2020 – Malaysian authorities should cease investigating Al-Jazeera staffers and stop using legal threats to harass the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 10, Malaysian police interrogated six reporters and staff members of the Qatari broadcaster in relation to a July 3 documentary, “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown,” aired…