KUALA LUMPUR: Media personnel from both mainstream press and online portals went black yestereday in solidarity with The Malaysian Insider (TMI) and The Edge following the arrests of its executives and editors.

Some also took to wearing yellow ribbons, the symbol of press freedom. Among those who were in black were journalists from English daily The Star and news portal Malaysiakini, as did reporters covering parliamentary proceedings in the House. Some media personnel changed their Facebook profiles to black, and Malaysiakini’s homepage went black and white.

In Penang, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng also wore a black shirt under his jacket. The DAP secretary-general said he was in black in support of media freedom.

Journalist R Nadeswaran took to his Twitter account on Tuesday to call on the industry to wear black following the arrests.

“Calling all media ppl: wear BLACK tomorrow (Wednesday)  to show support for our brothers. Let’s make a stand.

“Stand in solidarity. We will not be cowed,” he wrote using his official handle @CitizenNades. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 2, 2015.