K Kabilan
Dec 5, 07 1:08pm
Newspapers have been 'advised' by the Internal Security Ministry to
play down news reports involving activities of the Hindu Rights
Action Force (Hindraf).
Malaysiakini learnt that editors of dailies were told at a meeting
not to highlight stories and photographs relating to the Hindraf
rally on Nov 25 and on all other matters involving the coalition.
The 90-minute meeting was chaired by Publications Control and Al-
Quran Texts Unit enforcement head Zailani Hashim. He could not be
contacted today for confirmation as he is out of town on duty.
However, editors contacted confirmed the gist of the meeting, which
took place at the ministry in Putrajaya yesterday afternoon.
"We were basically told not to give prominence to Hindraf," said an
editor, adding that Tamil-language dailies were specifically
mentioned for their coverage of the rally.
At the same time, the editors were also told not to publish news that
would put the police and the government in a bad light.
"The KDN officer told us that we can report news about Hindraf but we
have to give them low coverage," said another editor who was also at
the meeting.
"And we were told not to play up photographs of police being violent
at the Nov 25 rally by Hindraf. The message was for us not to blame
the police for what happened at the rally."
He said the ministry appeared worried that the reputation of the
police force could be further eroded in the eyes of the public.
On Nov 25, about 30,000 Indian Malaysians brought the busy Jalan
Ampang to a standstill for about six hours, as they attempted to
march to the British High Commission to submit a petition claiming
they have been marginalised since being brought to Malaya as
indentured labourers.
The police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd.
Earlier that day, a smaller crowd of about 3,000 was similarly
dispersed at the Batu Caves temple. The crowd had gathered there in
preparation for the rally in Jalan Ampang.
Some protesters have since been charged with illegal assembly, while
26 others were charged yesterday with the attempted murder of a
police officer after allegedly assaulting him with bricks. All the
newspapers gave prominent coverage to this today.
The government has condemned the rally as illegal and dismissed
claims that the community is marginalised.
Editors were also told not to highlight another rally by the polls
reform coalition Bersih, planned for Dec 11 at Parliament House,
against a proposed constitutional amendment to extend the retirement
age of the Election Commission's office bearers from 65 to 66.
A previous rally by Bersih last month was dispersed by the police
using water cannon and tear gas, but some 40,000 people managed to
break through the cordons to march to the national palace where a
memorandum was submitted to an official.
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