from Malaysiakini website
Police raid on Malaysiakini under more fire
Claudia Theophilus
4:20pm Fri Jan 24th, 2003
Umno Youth should have used the same media space to explain its objection to the allegedly seditious letter published by malaysiakini on Jan 9, said the International Movement for a Just World (Just).
In a joint press statement, its president Dr Chandra Muzaffar and former secretary-general Dr A Farish Noor said this would have been in accordance with the "fundamental principles of democracy as well as adab (civil etiquette) of difference and disagreement in Islam".
"At a time when Malaysia is trying to present itself as a model democratic Muslim state and a haven for progressive Muslim thought, moves such as these only serve to reinforce the mainstream Western media stereotyping of Malaysia as a repressive state.
"Progressive Islam can only develop in a society that is democratic and tolerant of differences in opinion," they said.
The duo added the authorities should have invited malaysiakini to explain their position rather than resorting to the use of strong-arm tactics if they felt they had a case against the online daily.
"In a democratic society, any party that feels strongly about any comment/statement should abide by the rules of civil debate and respond to the statement by writing or open discussion," they said, adding that the police raid was a blatant attempt to suppress freedom of expression.