(July 24): Putrajaya owes Malaysians an explanation how The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily's reportage of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue is detrimental to public order and security as it claimed in a letter, ordering suspension of the two publications, PKR said today.

In condemning the suspension, the party's youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the move by the Home Ministry was "highly disturbing" and was a "grave breach" of press freedom.

"The decision by the Home Ministry to suspend The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily for three months from July 27, 2015 is highly disturbing and a grave breach of the freedom of the press," he said in a statement today.

"The government owes Malaysians an explanation just why exactly The Edge’s reporting on the issue is '… prejudicial or likely to be prejudicial to public order, security or likely to alarm public opinion or is likely to be prejudicial to public and national interest'."

The Home Ministry today announced the suspension of the publishing permits of The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily for three months from July 27.

Failure to stop publication for three months will result in the withdrawal of the publishing permits, the letter from the ministry said.

"We don’t see how exposing the scam to cheat the people of Malaysia of billions of ringgit can be construed as being detrimental to public and national interest," said The Edge Media Group publisher and CEO Ho Kay Tat following the letter from the Home Ministry.

"This is nothing more than a move to shut us down in order to shut us up."

Earlier this month, The Edge said it had received a show-cause letter in which the ministry had given them seven days to explain why action should not be taken under the Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984.

Ho said then that The Edge was accused of publishing articles on the controversial state fund 1MDB which created confusion and doubts about the government and financial institutions.

The show-cause letter was issued just over a week after Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi made a statement, singling out and warning The Edge over "false reporting" on 1MDB.

Nik Nazmi, who is also Seri Setia assemblyman, said that the government should have fully and comprehensively answered all allegations made against it regarding 1MDB instead of resorting to the draconian method of suspending the publications.

"As has been stated repeatedly, its inability to do so, rather than media reporting, is what has caused uncertainty and unhappiness on the part of the public," he said.

"The government should immediately reverse the suspension and give the people the answers they deserve regarding the various issues that have dominated headlines as of late."

Zahid's warning came shortly after a former PetroSaudi executive, Xavier Andre Justo, was arrested in Thailand for allegedly blackmailing the company and tampering with emails.

Zahid said the tampered emails formed the basis of Sarawak Report's 1MDB exposes, which in turn were published by The Edge. – The Malaysian Insider