Pakatan Harapan no longer needs to “fear” Utusan Malaysia now that it has taken Putrajaya, a former Umno minister said today.
Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this was because the Umno-owned newspaper now gives Harapan more space as the new government, while remaining fair to BN as the opposition.
“They are now in power. There is no longer any reason to fear Utusan,” the Selangor Umno chief told reporters when met while on the campaign trail for BN’s Sungai Kandis by-election candidate, Lokman Noor Adam.
By issuing such instructions, Ismail believes, the government is also indirectly restricting freedom of the press.
He was asked to comment on a leaked memo stating that the Education Ministry had instructed all of its subscriptions to Utusan Malaysia to be halted immediately.
Ismail claimed the move is a sign that Pakatan Harapan is still acting like the opposition.
While Harapan has consistently been against the Umno-owned paper, he said, their attitude should now change after taking federal power.
“Any reports not favourable to them, they will view it (the media) as an enemy. Stop buying the papers and all that,” he said.
“If they are truly an open government, give opportunity for everyone to read everything… Utusan, Berita Harian, The Star.
“Let them read and make up their own minds,” said the Bera MP.
Earlier today, it was reported that the leaked July 18 memo was sent by the special adviser to the education minister Wan Saiful Wan Jan to Education Ministry secretary-general Mohd Ghazali Abas.
The authenticity of the memo was later confirmed by a ministry official.
In Parliament, Education Minister Maszlee Malik told reporters in parliament that the move would save money as the news could be read online.
However, Maszlee said he was not aware of the memo, and would check with his special adviser. – MKINI
Ex-Utusan head lauds Education Ministry’s move to ditch Utusan
A former Utusan Malaysia editor-in-chief has lauded the Education Ministry’s move to cancel its subscription to the Umno-owned newspaper.
Zainuddin Maidin, who led the newspaper in the late 1990s, took to Twitter to voice his support for the move today.
“It is proper for the Education Minister to instruct all schools, universities, colleges and education institutions under him to stop subscribing to Utusan Malaysia because it is not the voice of the rakyat but an official mouthpiece for the racist Umno,” he said.
“The opposition’s voice was not censored completely to the point the people hated us, even though boycotts were organised against us. Its circulation also increased,” Zainuddin said of the loss-making daily.
‘Move unfair’
Meanwhile, former Utusan senior editor Ku Seman Ku Hussain, in a Facebook post, called the subscription cancellation move “unfair.”
“This not only goes against the government’s policy towards differing ideologies and opinions, but is also indifferent to an opposition newspaper.
“As the government, they can definitely ‘kill’ Umno-owned Utusan, but they should be more ‘humane’,” he wrote, adding that the Pakatan Harapan administration should prove that it is not driven by vengeance.
“If Utusan has made a mistake, take action against them based on a case, instead of beating blindly.
“Outside the political sphere, we can deny Utusan’s contribution to the rakyat. I urge attention to this before things get worse.”
In a memo dated July 18, Education Minister Maszlee Malik was quoted as instructing all subscriptions to Utusan by the ministry to be halted immediately.
A ministry official later told Malaysiakini that the ministry was also considering cancelling its subscription to other newspapers as a cost-cutting measure.
However, Maszlee has said he was unaware of the memo itself and would check with his special adviser Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who had issued the document.
He also refused to comment when asked whether other newspapers will meet the same fate as Utusan. – M’kini
MKINI
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