KUALA LUMPUR: More groups are urging Putrajaya to lift its block of the Sarawak Report’s website and to sue the whistle-blower site if it breached any law.

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said the move was a breach of the guarantee to freedom of expression under the Federal Constitution, while the Centre for a Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) said the move was a black spot on the integrity of Malaysia’s Internet regulator.

“CIJ calls on the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to respect the right to freedom of expression and to cease its blocking of the Sarawak Report.

“If indeed the laws have been breached, a case could be brought against the Sarawak Report, and it should not be arbitrarily blocked without being given an opportunity to defend itself,” CIJ directors Jac Kee and Sonia Randhawa said in a statement yesterday.

The MCMC yesterday confirmed that it had instructed local Internet service providers to block access to the Sarawak Report, saying that the site was disrupting national security. 

But CIJ said blocking a website was a “serious restriction” on the freedom of expression, and said there should be a legitimate reason for the action which should be clearly outlined and disclosed.

“In this case, MCMC appears to have assumed the role of prosecutor and judge, and found the Sarawak Report guilty of an offence under the CMA without a prosecution or a court finding.

Meanwhile, Cenbet said in a statement that “unless MCMC can give a persuasive reason why blocking the Sarawak Report is crucial in ensuring peace and order, its integrity as a regulator would be questioned.”. This is a better option than to have MCMC act arbitrarily. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 21, 2015.