FreeMalaysiaToday By Teoh El Sen
MON, 30 AUG 2010 21:29
PUTRAJAYA: Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar is planning to start her very own newspaper, which would be a Malay daily called “Utusan Rakyat”.
The PKR leader earlier today submitted a letter of intent to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein at the latter’s office to assist in speeding up her application for a publication permit.
Nurul Izzah’s application comes in the wake of the Home Ministry’s recent decision not to renew the permit of Suara Keadilan, a PKR news organ, after the permit expired on June 30.
The ministry had sent a show-cause letter seeking explanation over several articles, including the one entitled “Felda Bangkrap”(Felda bankrupt). Felda has since filed a suit against the paper over the “bankruptcy” allegation.
Asked if “Utusan Rakyat” was a revival or a spin-off from Suara Keadilan, Nurul Izzah said: “This is going to be different, it is not a party organ. We are going to be non-partisan. We will be free and independent.”
She said the paper would focus on national issues alongside with another PKR-linked Malay weekly “Mingguan Era”, which focuses on local issues in the Klang Valley. She also welcomed funds or contributions from writers.
Nurul Izzah, who will act as the editor-in-chief, said she was applying for a permit in her personal capacity as a citizen of Malaysia and not as an MP or politician.
She said the paper would be funded by several business individuals and activists.
Constructive engagement
Nurul Izzah said that her application form, which requires a mock-up of the first issue for the ministry, will be sent in by Sept 16.
“I hope the minister would grant us the licence,” she said.
“After Umno leaders had alleged that I am a traitor and that I had jeopardised national security, I realised that we needed to have constructive engagement on policy issues,” Nurul said, adding that the submarine issue was based on official information in Parliament.
Hishammuddin had said Nurul Izzah had bad-mouthed the country abroad when commenting on an interview she gave to an Indonesian newspaper recently.
In the interview, she was alleged to have belittled the capabilityof the country’s submarines.
Nurul Izzah said the aim of starting the newspaper was to create a platform for constructive engagement of all parties to better develop the country.
“Also, our prime minister recently said that we now have better media freedom today, and I would like to challenge and put his statement to the test,” she said.
She added that she would like to prove that freedom of speech really exists after 53 years of independence.
“The paper aims to raise the country’s image by proving that Malaysia is truly democratic and also to increase the confidence of Malaysians as well as foreign investors,” she said.
“This is also to fulfil my wish to not only speak out on foreign soil but also in our beloved Malaysia,” she said.
