Former journalist detained after reporting to cops

Rex Tan, who resigned yesterday morning, was arrested under the Sedition Act.

Former FMT reporter Rex Tan was arrested after turning up at the Dang Wangi police headquarters.

PETALING JAYA:

 Former FMT reporter Rex Tan was arrested early this morning after being summoned by the cops over a controversial question he posed at a public lecture in Kuala Lumpur that is said to have carried racial overtones.

Tan, 31, who resigned from FMT yesterday morning, was arrested just past midnight after turning up at the Dang Wangi police headquarters.

His lawyer, Rajsurian Pillai, said Tan had been arrested under the Sedition Act. It is understood that Bukit Aman will handle the investigation.

Malaysian Media Council deputy chairman Premesh Chandran acknowledged that Tan had made a mistake but said his arrest was excessive.

“He was already prepared to cooperate with the investigation, detention is not necessary,” Premesh added.

The lecture, titled “Gaza Exposes the Complicity of International Actors”, was held on Jan 12 and featured British politician George Galloway.

Following widespread criticism on social media, Tan issued a public apology, admitting that his question was “poorly constructed”, failed to “take into account its relevance to the event” and lacked sufficient consideration of its sensitive nature.

He acknowledged that he fell short of the professional journalistic standards expected of him and appealed to the public against attacking FMT Media or his family.

Tan also pointed out that he had never used the term “apartheid” nor suggested the parallel between the current state of Chinese Malaysians to Palestinians.

FMT had also issued an apology, saying it had no prior knowledge of Tan’s intention to pose the question and did not approve of his remarks.

On Thursday, the Malaysian Media Council condemned the doxxing, harassment and intimidation of Tan that followed the controversy. - FMT