Sue, not ban, says Guan Eng

The Penang government today urged Putrajaya to lift the ban on The Malaysian Insider, saying if there was an offending article, the government could sue the news portal instead of imposing a ban. Sources reportedly said the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission had ordered internet service providers to block The Malaysian Insider yesterday for "national security" reasons. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said they were shocked that the news portal had been banned. "We urge the federal government to revoke the ban. If they want to ban, then ban the goods and services tax and other provisions that hurt the economy. "We condemn the ban strongly. There is no justification," he told a press conference today. Lim said if there was an offending article, the government could sue, instead of imposing a ban. He said the Penang government, which faced unfavourable reports by some "hostile" media organisations, had resorted to legal action instead of barring the media organisations. Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, also said the move would hurt Malaysia's media freedom standing. – February 26, 2016.]]>