Police confiscate thousands of copies of Suara KeADILan

The move comes in the wake of the political turmoil in Perak, and as the clampdown on press freedom strengthens ahead of the power transfer from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to his deputy Najib Abdul Razak next month

Suara Keadilan

Police have confiscated thousands of copies of Suara Keadilan, the official media organ of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, without giving valid reasons for their action.

Suara Keadilan distributors in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Johor and a few other states have been hit by the move.

“We don’t understand why this has happened because we are a licensed publication,” said Editor-in-Chief Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, popularly known by his pen name of Zunar.

“But we cannot allow it to stop us. We will continue with our struggle and our readers can be assured that, God willing, there will be an edition next week.”

Umno-BN feeling the heat

KeADILan information chief Tian Chua will be holding a no-holds-barred press conference tomorrow at 11 am at 153-M, Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.

Suara Keadilan’s flagship is a Malay weekly that focuses on political events and developments of the party and the nation as a whole.

Of late, due to the heated politicking over the disputed Perak state government, the Umno-led Barisan Nasional has grabbed centre stage in nearly all political conversations and media coverage throughout the country.

Most of the feedback has been negative, except in the Umno-BN’s own controlled media.

Press freedom is also expected to be crimped nationwide as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hands power over to his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak, next month.