'Utusan is not a government agency and has no right to order an employee to remain in his house. This is an employment inquiry and not a criminal inquiry.'

Utusan suspends NUJ chief Hata Wahari

Yobama: Utusan Malaysia's image was already tarnished even before National Union of Journalists president Hata Wahari made his statements.

One cannot tarnish Utusan any more than they themselves have done. In fact, it was 'self-inflicted', to use Dr Mahathir Mohamad's words, former 'boss' of Utusan , in reference to Anwar Ibrahim's ‘black eye'.

Utusan , let Hata continue his good work to uphold press freedom, despite it being an alien concept for you and Umno.

Sarajun Hoda: Welcome to PM Najib Razak's 1Malaysa and freedom of speech in Malaysia. It proves beyond any doubt Najib's claim that the time of government knows best is over and that the government will listen to the public is mere rhetoric to fool the people.

Secondly, does an employer have the right to restrict his employee from leaving his neighbourhood? Human rights lawyers, Bar Council, what have you to say?

Lim Chong Leong: In any respectable legal system, such a notice of suspension and domestic inquiry is invalid because it proposes to put the accused under house arrest, which is ultra vires. Any inquiry conducted pursuant to this notice is, therefore, rendered invalid.

But if we go to judicial review before the Umno courts, ‘habis jugak' (we're done as well). We're faced with 1Malaysia, but two laws.

Just go on strike, Utusan journalists, before you have all your stories written for you.

Faz: I am not surprised at the 'ostrich' behaviour of Utusan Malaysia . A true Muslim must say a spade is a spade regardless, as the truth is mandatory and paramount. But it must be done in a cultured way, which I assumed was the case with Hata.

So, if the powers-that-be insist on punishment, then we know what values Utusan Malaysia adhered to as "penyebar fikiran rakyat" (expanding the thinking of the people) or more aptly "penyekat (restricting) fikiran rakyat" .

Hatta, you are on the right side. May Allah be with you always.

Neders: Utusan is just one big joke. Not allowed to leave the confines of his residence? Is he as big a threat as Aung San Suu Kyi is to Burma?

Passing Cloud: It's obvious that Utusan is gunning after Hata Wahari to have him terminated. Faced with so much oven-ised stress and revved-up harassment heaped upon him from Utusan , poor Hata should be sick enough by now to be given a two-week leave to go wherever he wishes to recuperate.

He should be allowed to leave his house for his meals anytime of the day and also for a walk in the park or some daily aerobics or ‘tai chi' exercises or do whatever he deems necessary to de-stress and get well again.

Utusan shouldn't hold him captive 24 hours a day to the confines of his home - that's draconian and mala fide. This last condition reportedly imposed by Utusan will fail the "reasonableness" test in the Industrial Court, which of course Utusan doesn't care two hoots about.

It's a bet Utusan has already done its calculations of compensation. It just wants to do Hata in.

Anonymous_5fb: Who do the Utusan people think they are for imposing restrictions on Hata Wahari's movement? This is simply arrogance on the part of Utusan .

Kini sampai masa bagi rakyat Malaysia, khususnya Melayu, untuk memberitahu Umno yang keangkuhan mereka sudah keluar batas dan tidak lagi dapat dimaafkan lagi. Bangkitlah kita semua memerangi tindak-tanduk Umno yang keterlaluan. Cukup, sudah cukup.

KJ John: These are worse than idiocrats; they are mediocrats who think they are the police in the country who can order restricted residence. Ask them to take a walk, and sue them for violating your freedom.

P Dev Anand Pillai: Isn't this a clear example of how the federal administration run by the party that has been at the helm since independence treats Malays who dare speak up?

To break free from the shackles of oppression and journalistic freedom within the reasonable boundaries of fair comment on the matter of public interest, educated Malays need to wake up from their long slumber made possible through generations of indoctrination and face these tyrants who have become so bold because they know that they will face no opposition when they go about their abusive ways trying to instill fear among the oppressed.

The Malays need to wake up and break free from this mould or else we may even have more companies imposing ‘house arrest' orders on those being investigated.

Abolishment: Utusan is not a government agency and has no right to order an employee to remain within the "confines" of his residence. This is an employment (domestic) inquiry and not a criminal inquiry. The company has no legal right to ask an employee to remain at his premises.

I think Hatta can take the company to task for their deliberate assertions (in the letter) on asking him to remain in the confines of his house. This is uncalled for, and Hatta can institute legal proceedings against Utusan .

AnakPinang: There was a time when journalists took pride in being neutral and the need to speak the truth. Clearly, Hata Wahari belongs to that time and has little similarity with his racist employer.

Utusan publishes articles in the like of those in ‘Der Sturmer', the Nazi propaganda paper which fanned Jewish hatred during Hitler's rule. There is no room in that paper for truth and progressive, much less civilised, thinking.

So misguided is Hata's employer that they imagine they have the power to place him under ‘house arrest'. The arrogance speaks volumes about the Umno mentality that nothing is beyond their power to enforce as they please.

I wonder what will happen were Hata to take a holiday abroad? Balaclavas? FRU? Truly, we live in a fascist state and most of us don't even know it.

Patriot: This is what happens when someone or an organisation that is given unrestricted power and freedom. It wields more power than our police and seems untouchable by even the PM or the mercurial Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

Kopi: When some say Malaysia is moving towards countries like Burma, I disagree - we are worse than Burma. At least in Burma, it takes a junta to impose house arrest on opposition politicians, but in Malaysia, it takes only a newspaper company.

Come to think of it, the pen is really mightier than the sword.

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