Malaysian NGO journal faces printer obstacle

Malaysian NGO journal faces printer obstacle

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A Malaysian rights group said on Tuesday
it could not publish the latest issue of its magazine because
printers had been pressured not to handle it.

Aliran, a non-governmental organization on economic and social
issues, said the September issue had been ready for publication
almost a month ago.

But the group, based in northern Penang state, said in a
statement it had been unable to find a printer there who was
prepared to print Aliran Monthly (AM).

The group said the annual printing contract was worth more
than 100,000 ringgit (US$26,315) "yet many are reluctant to do
business with us."

It added: "Simply put, our printers, one after another, were
pressured to stop printing the AM. More than that, other Penang
printers who we approached also informed us that they had been
contacted by 'certain people' not to print the AM."

Aliran acknowledged it had no evidence of pressure tactics,
saying printers were unwilling to go on record. But it said it
had been forced to use four printers over the past seven months
before the latest impasse.

Committee member Anil Netto told AFP the printers and the
government would have had no way of knowing what was in the
September issue. But he noted it was ready about the time when
lawyers for sacked deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim were alleging a
possible poisoning plot against him.

"This just came at a dicey time for the government," he said,
acknowledging that there was no way of verifying this as the
reason for the printing problems.

Netto said Aliran had faced printing problems all this year
but the last time it had faced a major delay was during Operation
Lalang in 1987 -- the detention of large numbers of people under
internal security laws.

In its statement, Aliran called for the repeal of the Printing
Presses and Publications Act under which printers and
publications must be licensed.

It said the law discouraged honest journalism, stifled dissent
and "retards the growth of a free and just society."