KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said, his ministry on Thursday issued letters to some of the newspapers which had violated the publishing guidelines. These newspapers have been asked to explain within one week why their publishing permits should not be revoked, or should be renewed.

Sin Chew Daily received a letter signed by the home ministry's Ketua Setiausaha Bahagian Kawalan Penerbitan dan Teks a-Quran Che Din Yusoh Thursday afternoon, in which it was asked to explain why actions should not be taken against it.

Newspapers Reminded To Conform To Publishing Guidelines

Syed Hamid said in a press conference after attending the buka puasa dinner hosted by Percetakan Nasional Malaysia, that at the same time the ministry also issued letters to all mainstream dailies in the country, reminding them to conform to the home ministry's publishing guidelines.

He said he hoped the ministry's action to ask the newspapers to explain would not be seen as restricting the freedom of the media, adding that the ministry had the responsibility to ensure that conflicts would not occur in the society, or heightened emotions are triggered by some of the reports related to race, religion and culture.

"Sometimes people will tend to go by their own desire and forget that their actions could have gone overboard, or have touched on the interests of other people. As such, we have taken a few measures, such as requiring them to explain, giving them warnings, or suspending or terminating their licences."

When asked to reveal how many or which newspapers have been instructed to explain within a week, Syed Hamid said he would not want to disclose any further detail for the time being.

Meanwhile, on the unblocking of Malaysia Today and other blogs by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on Thursday, Syed Hamid said the actions taken by the authorities were only meant to serve as a warning or reminder, not punishment.

He felt that freedom must also come with some degree of responsibility in order not to cause social unrest.

"The influences of media, be it blogs, printed or electronic media, could be very significant and far-fetching to our society. Consequently, we have to be very careful, or turmoil and unrest will ensue."

He hoped that this incident would serve as a warning, and that all the media must come to the realisation of the seriousness of this matter." (Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)