PBB Youth lodges police report on Radio Free S’wak

PBB Youth lodges police report on Radio Free S’wak

Posted on March 5, 2011, Saturday

KUCHING: Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Youth is urging the police to take action against Radio Free Sarawak if investigation shows it has violated the country’s Sedition Act.

The Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) should also take action against the radio station if it is operating without a valid licence.

The party’s vice-Youth chief Pandi Suhaili said they decided to lodge a police report after Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang said MCMC could take action against the radio station.

“We hope the authorities take harsh action against the radio station because it is causing the rakyat to feel uneasy with the content of its broadcasting, which we understand is instigating them to hate the government,” he said when met at Simpang Tiga Police Station yesterday.

He added that the peace and harmony enjoyed by the rakyat were under threat from the radio station said to be operating illegally in the country.

Pandi said failure to take action against the radio after finding it had contravened the country’s law could damage society’s unity.

“The rakyat feel uneasy because they know it is dangerous to do such a thing. The uneasiness could be felt by the whole country because Malaysia is a multi-racial country and its existence hinges on mutual respect among citizens,” he said.

Salang said he was made to understand that the radio station was based in Malacca and not London.

He said the radio station was not licensed with the MCMC.

“If there are reports against it, the MCMC will investigate. If the contents contravene the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, it can block its broadcast,” said Salang.

The Sarawak Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman Abdul Karim Hamzah was among those who recently called on the relevant authorities to take action against the station.

He said in its daily broadcasts, the radio urged Sarawakians to go against the state government in the next state election as well as incite inter-racial hatred.

“It is strange that people would want to do things harmful to their own country. If anything, people with the right kind of mind will want to improve the situation in their own country and not destroy it,” he said as quoted by a national wired agency.

Later a PBB youth member Firdaus Morshidi, who is a practising lawyer, lodged a police report.

Youth members from more than 10 PBB branches in the state turned up at the police station to show their support for the movement’s decision.

They wanted the police and MCMC to take swift action against the radio station if it was found contravening the country’s law.