The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has instructed two portals to remove several articles which it claimed are against the law for going against Section 233 of its Act.
One of the portals, The Malaysian Insight (TMI), was asked to take down seven articles.
"The MCMC sent us a confidential letter to take down seven articles, mostly letters to the editor," TMI editor-in-chief Jahabar Saddiq told Malaysiakini.
He added that TMI has complied with the MCMC's request.
Meanwhile, Raja Petra Kamaurddin's blog portal Malaysia Today was ordered to take down one article through an MCMC letter dated Feb 15 which is published in full on its site.
“Based on the complaints, MCMC has looked into them and found that the articles contravened Section 233 of the MCMC Act 1998,” the letter stated.
It then ordered Malaysia Today to take down a Feb 11 article titled "First Lady AGC Walking The Path of Grace Mugabe". The article is no longer available.
The article is believed to refer to Faridah Begum KA Abdul Kader, the wife of Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali (photo), who had previously lodged a police report against Malaysia Today.
The MCMC letter stated that the commission had received public complaints regarding the articles.
All eight articles purportedly address current issues and local politics while being openly critical of certain political parties and leaders, said The Star.
MCMC, in its letter to Malaysia Today, urged the portal to be more conscious in ensuring they do not publish articles that go against the country’s laws.
Malaysia Today was recently mired in controversy for a slew of articles it ran on The Malaysian Insight and its editor-in-chief, Jahabar Saddiq who is Faridah's sibling.
“I am lodging a police report based on an article that Raja Petra Kamaruddin wrote on me. Any more than that I can't say; I am leaving the matter to the police," she was quoted as saying by the News Straits Times after she made the report on Tuesday.
The articles which Malaysia Today ran alleged that there was interference in the affairs of the Attorney-General's Chambers.
TMI, meanwhile, landed in the spotlight during the Umno general assembly last December (photo) when a delegate urged the authorities to probe the news portal.
Tasek Gelugor Umno Youth chief Mohd Nashrol Hisham Abdullah said this was following the portal's attacks on Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak.
He also claimed that a search with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) revealed that the portal is owned by Faridah.
Following this, MCMC later summoned Jahabar and other TMI executives for questioning.
On Feb 4 this year, Pertubuhan Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) lodged a police report against TMI saying it was suspected of receiving foreign funds to allegedly topple the government.
