Bangkok, January 30, 2025—Malaysian authorities must immediately return Malaysiakini’s executive editor RK Anand’s laptop, and stop harassing the independent news site, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.
“The police seizure of Malaysiakini executive editor RK Anand’s laptop is a clear and gross violation of press freedom,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “The computer should be returned to him unconditionally and this type of coercion must stop immediately.”
Police confiscated the computer and took a statement from Anand after Malaysiakini reported remarks that former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin made about two ministers on his podcast, according to news reports. Jamaluddin is under investigation for defamation for those comments.
The regulatory Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) also demanded access to Malaysiakini’s content management system (CMS), used to publish content on the outlet’s website, those sources said.
CPJ was unable to confirm whether Malaysiakini complied with the media regulator’s request.
Neither Malaysiakini nor the MCMC immediately replied to CPJ’s emailed requests for comment.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free (2025-01-30T15:58:31+00:00) Police seize Malaysiakini executive editor’s laptop. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/01/30/police-seize-malaysiakini-executive-editors-laptop/
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