Malaysia: Editors Suspended After Muslims Find Front Page Offensive

Two top editors at Malaysia’s leading English daily newspaper have been suspended and other journalists have been questioned by police over a front page published on the first day of Ramadan that was deemed offensive to Muslims.

The government has given The Star a week to explain why it should not be suspended for the content it printed on page one on May 27.

That day, The Star’s front page showed a picture of Muslims in congregational prayers to mark the beginning of the Islamic month Ramadan. The photograph was sandwiched between a banner headline about a terrorism leader at the top of the page and a Samsung phone ad promoting a spa package that showed a bare-shouldered woman being massaged.

Home Ministry Secretary General Alwi Ibrahim said the badly placed headline painted a poor image of Muslims as terrorists.

“The Star newspaper has been given seven days to reply to the show-cause letter as to why actions under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984, including suspension of publishing permit, should not be taken,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Under the act, the ministry can revoke or suspend a permit for any period it considers desirable.

Malaysian Police Inspector-General Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed that the paper was being investigated on suspicion of inciting religious enmity.

Among those offended by the page was Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party Information Chief Nasruddin Hassan Tantawi, who called it extreme and rude and said it mocked members of Malaysia’s Muslim majority.

Full story: BenarNews

Ray Sherman
Kuala Lumpur