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PAS : KE ARAH PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM YANG ADIL
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Why do UMNO leaders fear
Harakah?
The press crackdown betrays an inability to cope
by P Ramakrishnan
Aliran President
2 March 2000
It is a crying shame that the Barisan Nasional government has
to resort to
high-handed tactics to counter the challenge posed by the
influential opposition
publication, Harakah. Harakah has in the last two years emerged
as an effective
alternative voice for the opposition to criticise questionable
government policies.
It is a terrible blow to the freedom of the press and a blatant
denial of access to
information. There is no justification to reduce the frequency
of Harakah's
publication by 75 percent.
By severely curtailing the printing frequency and stringently
restricting the
circulation of Harakah, the Barisan Nasional government has
finally and
inadvertently conceded defeat - that it is no match to counter
opposition
criticism. Instead of crossing swords armed with truth and
logic, the BN
government has clamped down on freedom of expression.
By abusing its authority with puerile and primitive methods to
safeguard its
political interest, the BN government stands naked, stripped of
all its pretences
that it respects democracy and supports the rule of law. Its
justification for this
undemocratic decision sounds hollow and hypocritical.
It is absurd for Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who is
also Home
Minister, to state that ''the standardisation of the
publication period is to give a
fair opportunity to other political parties.'' What kind of
logic is this? If he is all
that concerned about giving fair opportunity to other political
parties, then what
happened to his concern for fair-play and a level playing-field
during the last
general election campaign. Why didn't he speak up when the
mainstream
media refused to give fair coverage to opposition views?
In justifying the restrictions on Harakah, Abdullah said that
UMNO will also
publish its newsletter twice a month. Just because UMNO cannot
match
Harakah's frequency, it does not mean that Harakah has to be
restricted to
conform to UMNO's inability to publish more often. Is it a
matter of time before
we are told that since other political parties are unable to
publish, Harakah must
also cease publication altogether?
In any case, it his not Abdullah's business whether a political
party wishes to
publish weekly or daily. If a political party has the means and
the resources to
publish as often as it wishes, why should it be regulated?
Abdullah's announcement yesterday smacks of political
vindictiveness however
much he may deny it by claiming "it is not a political
decision." Thinking people
will be flabbergasted and will shake their heads in disbelief;
they will certainly not
be convinced that his decision is based on rational or logical
thought.
It is instead a decision prompted by fear that Harakah will
further undermine
Malay confidence in UMNO, which has already suffered a sharp
erosion in
support from the Malay community; it is a selfish political
decision to ensure
UMNO's survival and the preservation of the ruling elite.
The timing of the announcement is also questionable: it came on
the day that
UMNO divisions began meeting to nominate candidates for the
UMNO
leadership. Is Abdullah trying to project himself as a brave
and strong leader to
boost his prospects in the ongoing campaign for the UMNO
elections?
Aliran condemns the politically motivated restrictions on
Harakah and calls for
the repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act. As
long as this Act
remains, it will be abused to curtail freedom of the press and
to serve political
ends.
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