Online news site office vandalised in Kuala Lumpur amid rising ethnic tensions
Online portal had reported extensively on satirical video made by Chinese Christian politician that Muslims said was insulting
The office of one of Malaysia's leading online news portals, Malaysiakini, was vandalised yesterday as tensions escalate in the multi-ethnic and multi-faith country.
Red paint was splashed on the four-storey building in Kuala Lumpur. A critically injured duck was left at the main entrance inside a cardboard box. Taped on the side was a photo of an ethnic Chinese Christian opposition politician, Teresa Kok, who was recently accused of insulting Malay Muslims.
It was a provocative act in a country with a delicate balance between the Malay-Muslim majority and ethnic Chinese and Indians.
The political environment has been more tense around religious and racial issues
Malaysiakini's chief executive officer, Premesh Chandran, said the pioneering online news portal was probably targeted because it covered the controversy surrounding Kok extensively.
"Malaysiakini reports both sides. Some people may not like what you report," he said.
The alternative press in Malaysia has always worked under tough conditions. It was allowed to flourish online because of a government pledge not to censor the internet. All traditional media are linked to the governing National Front coalition, which has been in power since independence from Britain in 1957.
"After the 2013 election the political environment has been more tense around religious and racial issues," Chandran said.
Kok, from the opposition Democratic Action Party, condemned the attack as a clear threat to Malaysiakini and its journalists.