On Friday, The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily were slapped with a 3-month suspension order. This comes after the Home Ministry issued the media group a show-cause letter on June 1 over its reports on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The letter from the ministry to the media company, stated that the publications’ coverage of 1MDB was “prejudicial or likely to be prejudicial to public order, security or likely to alarm public opinion or is likely to be prejudicial to public and national interest”. There have been many responses to the news of the suspension both in support of the government as well as against it. Apart from politicians like Tun Dr Mahathir and former MITI Iron Lady Rafidah Aziz, captains of industry have also weighed in. AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes called it a sad day. CIMB Chief and brother of the Prime Minister, Nazir Razak weighed in on his Instagram account noting that “The Edge is a pillar of our business community – big role in keeping us informed, honest and competitive.” Today we look at the response of civil society activists.
This is a report by Sharaad Kuttan.