Why do I feel like being insulted? Can’t I have freedom to read and decide for myself what to believe? Are people like me soooo stupid? This is the repeated mistake being made by those in charge. No wonder people trust the Internet and SMS from their friends more than newspapers, since everything is controlled.
Subra now has a big problem. His political mouthpiece is gone. Now have to go and beg from Syed Hamid. Maybe Samy may want to help out his buddy-again Subra?
Makkal Osai should consider joining up with Malaysiakini and move online. Get SMS gateways and move to mobile media level. Nearly everyone has a handphone.
Tamil daily Makkal Osai banned
http://malaysiakini.com/news/81464
Apr 16, 08 4:58pm
The Home Ministry today rejected the renewal of Tamil daily Makkal Osai’s publication permit, a move believed to be related to the widespread coverage given to the opposition.
When contacted, Makkal Osai general manager SM Periasamy confirmed that the ministry issued the letter which stated that the daily’s application ‘will not be considered’. The letter did not state any reasons for the rejection.
According to Periasamy, the daily – which is closely linked to former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam – had submitted an application for renewal in July, three months ahead of its permit’s expiry. Since Oct 15 – the day its permit expired – the daily has continued publication with the understanding that the government was in the process of considering its application for renewal. It finally received the answer from the ministry today.
It is noted for the extensive coverage given to the opposition often featuring lengthy articles on their leaders such as PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim. The daily’s headline today was about police presence at Anwar’s house yesterday over the Black 14 probe. It also asked if Anwar’s wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail would be arrested for failing to give a police statement.
Insiders also say that the ministry was also upset over the daily’s publication of photographs of Hindraf leader, the ISA-detained P Uthayakumar, while receiving treatment at the Taiping hospital last week. The daily, launched in 2005, has also given prominence to the Makkal Sakthi (people’s power) movement which sprang to life following the Nov 25 mammoth rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
However, the daily saw a decline in its circulation after Subramaniam buried the hatchet with his former nemesis MIC president S Samy Vellu who owns the rival Tamil Nesan daily.
Filing appeal tomorrow
Apart from the two dailies, the other Tamil newspaper in the market is Malaysia Nanban.
“We will file an appeal against this decision tomorrow,” said Periasamy. Makkal Osai, whose office is located in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, has some 100 staff. Their fate remains unknown. Makkal Osai or “The People’s Voice” has a circulation of 52,000.
This is not the first time that the newspaper ran into trouble. On Aug 24 last year, the government lapped a one-month suspension after the Tamil daily published an image of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a beer can four days ago. It was published as a weekly newspaper for 15 years before it became a daily in December 2005. It is an offshoot of Tamil Osai which ceased operations in 1990 following a management dispute.
First sign of repression?
Meanwhile in an immediate reaction, DAP’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang questioned if the daily was banned for giving too much coverage for the Pakatan Rakyat. “Is this the first sign of repression and crackdown on human rights and the little space opening up in the printed media after the March 8 political tsunami?” he asked in a statement today.
He said that it was clear that the decision to stop the publication of Makkal Osai was made at the weekly cabinet meeting today. “Why did the ministers, particularly from Umno and other Barisan Nasional component parties, particularly from the MIC, who have promised to end their subsidiary and subservient role in cabinet , agreed to such a repressive measure as to immediately close down Makkal Osai?”
From the Star:
Tamil daily Makkal Ossai suspended (2nd update)
KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry has decided not to renew the publication permit of Tamil daily Makkal Osai.
The newspaper’s general manager S.M. Periasamy said that they were informed of the decision by a telephone call from the Home Ministry Wednesday morning.
“When I went to the ministry to check if this was true, they handed me the letter rejecting the renewal of our licence,” he said.
The letter did not state any reasons for the rejection.
It is understood that the newspaper’s owner, former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam, met with Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to appeal the decision.