These are necessary measures for the Malaysian communist-dictatorship government to survive.
Media gagged over another rally
23 November 2007
Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Malaysian's Internal Security Ministry has instructed the local press to refrain from reporting about a banned rally in the capital Kuala Lumpur on 25 November 2007, which is seeking the Queen of England's help in a class-action suit against Her Majesty's government.
At least one newsroom received the order from a ministry official through telephone on 22 November, an industry source who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal told the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), a SEAPA partner based in Kuala Lumpur.
A similar gag order was issued over another rally held on 10 November, which saw thousands of Malaysians in a rare exercise of their right to assembly, to petition Malaysia's Supreme Monarch for free and fair elections.
The press may well be compelled to obey the order again, bound as it is by the licensing conditions stipulated in the 1987 Printing Presses and Publications Act. The government, however, appeared not to have learnt anything from the previous restriction which resulted in the mainstream media showing up poorly in the eyes of the thousands who were at the rally, and compared against the many reports, photographs and videos found in blogs and websites.
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