By Ahirudin Attan aka rockybru
Friday, September 12, 2008
update, sahur, 13th sept. A 2.34am sms: Hi evryone,here’s a message from our frens in sin chew to wear black clothes and yellow ribbons as a sign of protest against the detention of their colleague tan hoon cheng under the ISA.apologies for the late hour.
Original article:
Intimidating journalists. I have just spoken to the National Union of Journalist president Norila Daud. She expressed concern with the decision by the Government to detain a Sin Chew reporter under the Internal Security Act, apparently over her story on suspended Umno man Ahmad Ismail’s “Chinese were squatters” remarks.
“This is a gravely serious matter. For the first time in 21 years, a journalist has been detained under the ISA. A reporter has been detained under ISA for doing her job, for reporting. The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, only recently told media practioners to be brave in reporting the truth [read the Star’s Uphold the truth, 4/9], and now the Government has taken an action designed to intimidate these media practitioners. Sin Chew has been issued with a show-cause letter by the Government over the Ahmad Ismail report, so why invoke the ISA when before letting the newspaper editors respond to the show-cause? Also, I am very disappointed that the editors have not been hauled up. In any newspaper company, it is the Editor who is accountable.
“The NUJ will monitor the developments very closely.”
I told Norila that we need to send a clear message to the Government on this. As Advisor to the National Press Club, I share her views. As a journalist and a blogger, I am very concerned with the manner the ISA is being used against the people by the Government that they elected.
p.s. Apologies for not posting anything after my last article on RPK’s arrest under the ISA. I had to attend to some urgent stuff. Since then, YB Theresa Kok has also been picked up.
Thank you Mr Smith, for the Mansuhkan ISA badge.
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“Meanwhile, Bernard Khoo aka zorro, has written thus:
AND SOME OF YOU SAY THAT WE ARE NOT A COUNTRY IN DISTRESS?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Reporter of Sin Chew who broke the Ahmad’s story has also been arested under the ISA from her home in Bukit Mertajam. She reported what she witnessed and they snatched her whilst Ahmad can still frolick and determined to continue doing what he does best. He has snubbed his bosses. My question to the Media:
Theresa Kok was also arrested under the ISA. This evidently instigated by defeated Menteri Besar of Selangor that an imam of the said mosque who filed a police report on the false accusation by Toyo that Theresa Kok had asked for the cessation of the azan call.
This is not a country in distress?
Aren’t we expecting some statements from Suhakam, the NGOs, the Judiciary. If you can’t manage a communique, then it becomes apparent that our fears are well-founded…..YOU ARE DUMB!