NGOs protest against Malaysian Insider, The Edge owner

JMM protestors shout slogans against the media outside Menara KLK.

KUALA LUMPUR: About 20 Jaringan Melayu Malaysia members, armed with a loudspeaker and placards denouncing The Malaysian Insider and The Edge, marched into the building housing the two media at 2pm.

"Nasib baik tuan-tuan, hari ini tidak ada orang bakar bangunan ini. Bakar! (It's a good thing that no one burned this building today. Burn!)" said JMM secretary-general Hamdan Mohd Salleh at Menara KLK here.

Hamdan said that this was only the first round of protests against The Malaysian Insider and The Edge and urged the public to join in the second round, which involved lodging police reports against the business newspaper and news portal.

He also urged Malaysians to reject The Edge and The Malaysian Insider and radio station BFM, which is partially owned by The Edge, as a fellow enemy of the people.

The NGO will make a police report against Datuk Tong Kooi Ong, the owner of The Malaysian Insider and The Edge, at Dang Wangi police headquarters at 2.30pm on Friday, said its Federal Territory director Faizan Mohd Noor.

"For their Jewish agenda, for their Israel agenda. These three media must be shut down!" said Faizan.

Hamdan took the microphone again to say that such "slanderous and misleading reports" were a disgrace, and urged the media outlets to not make light of the rulers nor drag the royalty into the realm of politics.

The protestors left the scene around 2.30pm, as several The Edge employees gathered nearby watched their departure from a neighbouring office tower.

This week, four The Malaysian Insider editors and The Edge’s publisher were arrested under the Sedition Act.

Police arrested The Malaysian Insider editors, Lionel Morais, Zulkifli Sulong and Amin Shah Iskandar, and chief executive officer Jahabar Sadiq as well as The Edge publisher Ho Kay Tat over an article on PAS’ hudud.