Malaysia court finds news portal in contempt

Malaysia's highest court on Friday found newsportal Malaysiakini in contempt over comments posted by readers that were deemed offensive to the judiciary.

A panel in the federal court ruled six to one that the media outlet held full responsibility for its website, including the comments. The ruling regards five comments posted by readers on the website that it said undermined public confidence in the judiciary.

The site has been ordered to pay a 500,000 ringgit ($120,000, €102,000) fine by next week. The fine was more than double what prosecutors had originally sought. Malaysiakini will likely be unable to appeal the verdict because the case was heard in Malaysia's highest court.

The panel did not find editor-in-chief Steven Gan guilty of the offense, despite also being accused of contempt of court. If he was found guilty, he could have been sent to prison.

Test of press freedom

Judge Rohana Yusuf, who delivered the verdict, said that the case would "attract worldwide attention," with some saying it "threatened media independence."

Yusuf continued, "while freedom of opinion and expression is protected by the federal constitution, it must be … within the bounds permissible by law … and the law does not tolerate contempt of court as it undermines the system of judiciary."

She said the comments that were posted on the site were "reprehensible" and involved "allegations of corruption which were unproven and untrue."

The case is widely seen as a test of media freedom in the southeast Asian nation. Gan said reporters should not "give up" in the face of what he called "harassment" by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's government.

"It will have a chilling effect on discussion of public issues in the country and delivers a body blow on our campaign to fight corruption in the country," said Gan following the verdict.

Malaysiakini is one of the country's leading current affairs websites, reporting on corruption scandals that larger outlets in the country usually do not touch.

Malaysia has improved its standing in the World Press Freedom index in recent years. But rights groups have said freedom of speech and the press have seen renewed scrutiny under PM Muhyiddin.

kbd/sri (AFP, Reuters)