Malaysiakini and editor-in-chief Steven Gan, who could face imprisonment if found guilty of contempt of court, awaits the Malaysian Federal Court's judgment
Malaysiakini is Malaysia’s first independent news outlet launched in November 1999. It is known for being the first news organization in Malaysia to give real-time updates on election results since 2008. It has also published articles critical of the administration, such as its comprehensive reporting on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad financial scandal. This led to the arrest of former prime minister Najib Razak and the fall of Malaysia’s ruling political party in 2018.
It is the first time Malaysiakini has been cited for contempt of court in its 20-year history.
What is the case about?
On June 9, Malaysiakini published a news article about Malaysian chief justice instructing all their courts to be fully operational by July 1, in line with the country’s transition to the recovery phase of the country’s movement control order – or lockdown measures – amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Six days later, Attorney General Idrus Harun, the principal legal adviser of Malaysia, filed an application to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Malaysiakini and Gan over 5 comments left by readers on the said article online.
Malaysiakini said it deleted the comments after being contacted by the police on June 11, two days after the article was published.
Still, on June 15, Idrus alleged in his affidavit that the online news portal facilitated the posting of the comments, which he said, “clearly meant that the judiciary committed wrongdoings, is involved in corruption, does not uphold justice and compromised its integrity.”
