Popular columnist and social activist Marina Mahathir’s article for her ‘Musings’ column in The Star slated for publication today has been spiked by the major English daily.

As she explained in her blog posting yesterday, The Star’s decision is caused by fear of more actions to be taken by the Home Ministry should it continue to touch on issues labeled as sensitive.
    
She disclosed in the posting, “The Star refused to publish it because...what happened to its managing editor P. Gunasegaram's article... [when] the Home Ministry gave them a show-cause letter.”

sisters in islam anti book banning book burning campaign 190808 marina mahathir“They don't want any 'sensitive' articles that may jeopardise their KDN permit,” added Marina (left).

Reposted on her blog, her spiked article for ‘Musings’ touched on the issue of caning and Syariah laws in Malaysia, two issues previously mentioned in Gunasegaram’s article and has been deemed ‘sensitive’.

Marina expressed her disappointment over the matter but remained steadfast in her views, vowing to continue to express herself on the open arena of the internet instead.

She criticised the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the necessity of annually renewed publication permits as the cause behind The Star’s reluctance to explore sensitive issues, alluding that the daily is “capitulating” to the government instead of “standing up for freedom of speech.”

Last week The Star and Gunasegaram, came under fire for an article entitled 'Persuasion, not compulsion', a commentary written by Gunasegaram on the recent caning of three Muslim women that was published in the daily.

Various NGOs lodged a barrage of police reports against Star and Gunasegaran, while the Home Ministry issued it a show cause letter.

The Star has since retracted Gunasegaram’s article and issued an apology over it.