Malaysia suspends newspaper in 1MDB scandal amid fears over press freedom
Malaysian authorities have suspended publication of a business daily whose aggressive reporting on a financial scandal has rocked the government, a move the newspaper and media groups decried on Friday as a grave breach of press freedom.
Malaysian authorities have suspended publication of a business daily whose aggressive reporting on a financial scandal has rocked the government, a move the newspaper and media groups decried on Friday as a grave breach of press freedom.
In a notice dated on Thursday, the Home Ministry suspended the publishing permits of The Edge Media Group for three months, saying its reporting on the scandal swirling around state-owned company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) threatened “public order”.
The Edge has published a series of exposes over the past year detailing alleged fraud, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds surrounding 1MDB, which is closely linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak.
“This is nothing more than a move to shut us down in order to shut us up,” the Edge group’s CEO Ho Kay Tat said.
