Just hours after being fined 500,000 ringgit (US$123,600) for contempt, a leading Malaysian news portal on Friday raised the full amount for the penalty through an online fundraising campaign – with citizens decrying the court’s decision as the latest blow for press freedom in the country. The Federal Court, Malaysia’s highest judicial body, on Friday ruled that Malaysiakini was guilty of contempt over five comments posted by readers on its website last year, saying the portal – one of Southeast Asia’s oldest online news sites – was responsible for the dissemination of remarks deemed to have undermined the “system of justice” in the country. “The impugned statements had gone far and wide … the content was spurious and reprehensible in nature and the content involved allegations of corruption which were unproven and untrue,” said judge Rohana Yusuf, who chaired a seven-judge panel. The decision to convict and fine Malaysiakini was supported by six of the seven judges. The court cleared editor-in-chief Steven Gan of any offence, but the 500,000 ringgit penalty was more than double the fine prosecutors had sought. Soon after the verdict, Malaysiakini said it was launching a fundraising drive to help it pay the fine. “For 21 years, Malaysiakini has relied on the generosity of the public to continue its mission. We again call upon Malaysians to come to our aid,” Gan said. In an earlier press conference, the veteran journalist said the portal he co-founded in 1999 was “very disappointed” with the verdict. “What crime has Malaysiakini committed that we’re forced to pay 500,000 ringgit when there are individuals charged with abuse of power for millions and billions who are walking free?” he said. Shades of a despot? Muhyiddin’s halt of Malaysia’s democracy has familiar feel Just after 4.30pm in Malaysia, a widget on the website tracking the donations showed that 528,324 ringgit had been raised. “Target achieved. Donation campaign suspended. Thank you!” a message on the widget said. On social media, the website’s supporters posted screenshots showing confirmation notices of their donation to the cause. “Let’s not stop, fellow Malaysians! We shall not be stifled nor silenced!” wrote Twitter user Rahah Ghazali. Reactions over the verdict have come thick and fast from the international community as well, with the ambassadors of Britain, Australia and Canada expressing their concern. Censorship, sedition probes: is Malaysia ‘sliding down the democracy scale’? The contempt case against Malaysiakini was brought in June last year by attorney general Idrus Harun, appointed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin soon after he took power alongside Malay nationalists in a political coup that deposed the Pakatan Harapan administration. International press watchdogs had lauded the Pakatan Harapan government, shock victors of the 2018 polls, as having nudged the country’s long-beleaguered state of press freedom forward. But Muhyiddin’s ascent to power has coincided with an erosion of that progress, observers have said. Last year, the government failed to renew the work visa of two Al Jazeera journalists after the Qatar-based network broadcast a documentary highlighting the poor treatment of undocumented migrant workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Additional reporting by Reuters