Party Organs should be saleable to all citizens

WAMI  Statement

2010-07-22

Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) strongly condemn the government for deliberately disapproving or delaying the renewal of publication permits for three opposition parties’ organs, namely Suara Keadilan, Harakah and The Rocket. To date, only Harakah’s permit is renewed.

WAMI holds that in democracy where citizens are free to choose their reading materials, party organs with narrow appeals cannot be sold beyond the circle of party loyalists even if they want to.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s assertion that the party organs must stick to the ministry’s guideline and restricting their sales to party members therefore only suggests that these party organs are actually popular beyond their membership.

And why would non-members spend their hard-earned money to buy overtly partisan views? The answer is simple: all mainstream media are now strictly controlled by the government through censorship and ownership made possible by restrictive laws like the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).

党报应可销售给公众

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟文告

2010年7月23日

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟强烈谴责政府故意不批准，抑或拖延批准三份反对党党报 — 《公正之声》、《哈拉卡》和《火箭报》。至今，仅有《哈拉卡》的出版准证获得更新。

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟认为，民主社会的公民有选择读物的自由。若党报的诉求狭隘，即使传播多广，也无法超出党忠诚支持者的范围。

内政部长希山慕丁胡先表示党报必须遵从内政部指南和只限党员购买，显示这些党报在非会员群众也广受欢迎。

为什么非会员会花费辛苦赚得的金钱购买内容偏颇的党报？答案很简单：所有主流媒体现在被严格控制，政府通过限制性法律如出版与印刷法令审查媒体及控制拥有权。