'Rocket' gets Home Ministry show-cause letter

DAP's The Rocket was not spared by the Home Ministry in the ongoing crackdown on party organs of opposition parties.

Two Home Ministry officials visited the DAP headquarters in Petaling Jaya this afternoon and handed a show-cause letter to Rocket'sChinese-language editor.

The letter asked the party organ to explain why it continues publishing although its publication permit has expired.

Should the explanation be rejected by the powerful ministry,The Rocket could face suspension.

Malaysiakiniunderstands that the permit for the English version of the DAP mouthpiece expired last month, whereas the licences for the Malay- and Chinese-language editions respectively expired in September and November last year.

When contacted by Malaysiakini earlier, DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua said the party's application to renew its permit had already been submitted to the Home Ministry.

According to him, the ministry is often late in informing the party of its decision, forcing DAP to use the old permit number on The Rocket's new edition.

Two other opposition party organs have run into trouble, with PKR'sSuara Keadilan being suspended last week, while PAS' Harakah is being issued two show-cause letters.