Malaysiakini welcomed today's Court of Appeal decision rejecting the government's appeal against the High Court ruling that publishing a newspaper is a right, not a privilege.
"The decision is not only a victory for Malaysiakini, but for press freedom as a whole. It upholds the view that press freedom is a fundamental right, as provided for by the Malaysian constitution," Malaysiakini CEO Premesh Chandran said.
Editor-in-chief Steven Gan (left) described the decision as yet another blow to the government which seeks to put a lid on free flow of information.
“The battle for press freedom continues. This is just a small step forward. But with the support of Malaysians, we shall prevail,” Gan said.
However, the decision does not award Malaysiakini a licence to print. It limits the power of the home minister to arbitrarily deny a publishing permit and the minister now has to take into account the constitutional right to freedom of speech.
Therefore, today’s Court of Appeal decision, if not challenged, sets a precedent that will reshape the media industry, allowing many more newspapers to be published.
Nevertheless, Malaysiakini expects the government to appeal the case and it will nevertheless fight the case if it goes to the Federal Court.
"The government wants to emulate Western democracies in many ways. We hope that they appreciate the value of a free press in a functioning democracy," added Premesh (right).
“We are happy to meet the home minister to discuss the matter.”
Both Premesh and Gan thanked lawyers K Shanmuga and Edmund Bon for arguing the case on behalf of Malaysiakini.
Hope ministry learned a lesson
Meanwhile New York-based Human Rights Watch, in an immediate reaction, hailed the appellate court’s decision.
“The Court of Appeal decision supporting Malaysiakini's right to publish a print edition is a big victory for freedom of expression in Malaysia and an important first step towards correcting the government’s dominating role in determining the news that ordinary Malaysians see in print,” the organisation’s Asia division deputy director Phil Robertson said.
“Just as Malaysiakini was a pioneer in developing credible, independent online news reporting, so one hopes this judicial decision will open the door for it to play the same role among the country’s printed newspapers.”
Robertson said Human Rights Watch hopes that the Home Ministry has learned a lesson that it is “long past time that it ends the practice of using executive fiat to bar publishing of views it does not like”.
“Such censorship through administrative action is odious to respect for basic human rights and doesn't belong in modern Malaysia.”
Malaysiakini wins, gov't fails in appeal
