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By Neville Spykerman, The Malaysian Insider PKR information chief Chua Tian Chang today warned that the Home Ministry's confiscation of Suara Keadilan and Harakah newspapers heralds an imminent crackdown on press freedom especially with Datuk Seri Najib Razak taking power next month.
The Batu MP said copies of both party newspapers had been seized after the Kuala Terengganu by-election last month and he expected the situation to get worse for the local media. "Our sources tell us the impact of newspapers during the by-election had angered the Barisan Nasional leadership and we expect the situation to get worse after Najib becomes Prime Minister," said Chua, who is better known as Tian Chua. He estimated 20,000 copies of Suara Keadilan have been seized by the Home Ministry from vendors across the country. "They are intimidating the vendors by issuing warning letters and we expect many of them to discontinue selling Suara Keadilan," he said, adding that it was extraordinary as vendors were just trying to make a living but have been targeted for selling opposition party newspapers. Chua said the party will be offering legal aid to vendors who face action from the Home Ministry, which has also yet to spell out which articles or editions may have breached the regulations. By law, party newspapers can only be sold to members. He said the crackdown was contrary to assurances he had received from Home Minster Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar earlier that sales would not be hindered. "I will be writing to him soon for an explanation or meet him in Parliament." Meanwhile, Suara Keadilan group editor Zulkiflee Anwar Haque said he believes the paper's weekly edition between Jan 14 and 21, during the height of the Kuala Terengganu by-election, was the cause of the crackdown. He said that edition had exposed that Barisan Nasional's promised allocation of RM100,000 to a mosque during the Permatang Pauh by-election, in August 2008, had remained unfulfilled. Zulkiflee said 20,000 copies of the paper were distributed free to voters, many of whom got angry over the empty promise and expressed it at the ballot box.
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