Hisham wants appeal on Malaysiakini decision

Aidila Razak 12:42PM Oct 3, 2012

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today he "would like" the government to appeal against a verdict siding Malaysiakini on the permit to publish a newspaper.

"The Home Ministry will definitely engage the attorney-general and on a personal basis, I would like to see the matter appealed," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

However, Hishammuddin stressed that the final decision lies with the attorney-general.

"If there is any information the attorney-general requires from the ministry, we will definitely work closely with him," he said.
Before Hisham's time
Asked why the ministry had rejected the application by Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd, which operates the Malaysiakini news portal, Hishammuddin said the rejection took place "before his time" in the ministry.

"I would like the people to look at the Home Ministry under my leadership and to look forward, because these are matters of the past, issues that are part of the legacy which we have to bear... it is not my jurisdiction, we have to look forward," he said.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court's Appellate and Special Powers division has quashed the Home Ministry's decision not to grant a publishing permit to Mkini Dotcom, which operates the Malaysiakini news portal.

In ruling the ministry's decision as "improper and irrational", judge Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim said the home minister's decision was misdirected as it exceeded the limits of the ministry's jurisdiction.

Mkini Dotcom first applied for the permit in 2002, with its most recent application to publish 40,000 copies in the Klang Valley, at a price of RM1 a copy, rejected in August 2010.