KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian court heard on Monday a contempt case brought by the government against independent news portal Malaysiakini and its editor-in-chief over readers’ comments posted on its website, in a case widely seen as a test for press freedoms, foreign media reported.
Rights groups have accused Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's government of stifling dissent after a series of clampdowns against critics of his four-month-old administration. Last month, Malaysia's attorney-general filed an application to cite Malaysiakini and its editor-in-chief Steven Gan for contempt over five comments posted by readers on its website that allegedly undermined public confidence in the judiciary.
Malaysiakini and Gan, who could face a jail term as well as a fine, have maintained they could not be held responsible and the offending comments had been immediately removed after they were contacted by police.
At Monday's hearing, Malaysiakini's lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar argued that there was no evidence the portal intended to post the comments. "One shouldn't be shooting the messenger unless one can actually show the messenger is the creator of the message being delivered," he told the court. Government lawyer S. Narkunavathy said Malaysiakini should be held liable for facilitating the publishing, arguing the portal's filtering systems had been insufficient to prevent the comments from being posted.
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