Home Ministry officials have confiscated thousands of copies of a fortnightly political tabloid, Kabar Era Pakatan, from the offices of its distributors.According to the publication's chief editor Mat Zahari Ali (left), about 3,000 copies of Kabar Era Pakatan's debut April 5-20 edition as well as its third (May 9 - 22) edition have been seized since last Friday from distributors' based in Ipoh and Taiping in Perak and Gombak, Selangor. The first edition - carrying the headlines 'Anwar: Investigate Najib-APCO relations' - carried the full text of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's speech regarding the Apco Worldwide controversy in Parliament.
The third edition front-paged the Scorpene submarines scandal, in which Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his associate Abdul Razak Baginda have been implicated, with the headlines 'Najib, Razak Baginda listed'. The last edition had earlier been reported to have been under the ministry's radar after officials visited the printer's factory in Shah Alam and enquired about the publisher's permit.
Waiting for answers
Lamenting the seizures, Mat Zahari said the ministry did not give any notice to him before the confiscations were undertaken."I believe the confiscation was politically-inspired due to the articles that were carried (in the editions)," he told Malaysiakini.Mat Zahari said he is now waiting for clarification from the ministry's publications control unit, as the officers he met could not furnish him with an explanation over the matter.
“Some officers even said that the copies were confiscated because the mock-up title which was sent to the ministry was not the same with the one published,” said a puzzled Mat Zahari.He also claimed that the officers had accused him of publishing Kabar Era Pakatan without a permit.“The permit number is clearly stated on the (frontpage of) the bi-weekly newspaper,” said Mat Zahari.
'No permit'
Bernama, meanwhile, reported the secretary of the Home Ministry's Publication and Quranic Texts Control Division as saying that 6,108 copies of the political tabloid were confiscated from 915 premises throughout the country.Zaitun Ab Samad said the seizures were undertaken following complaints from the public and a police report that had been lodged against the tabloid, which he said had been published without a permit.
"This goes against Section 5 of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984," Zaitun was quoted as saying.Those found guilty of breaching the act can be sentenced to a maximum of three years and/or fined RM20,000, he added.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/132636
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