No reason for Review, Asiaweek delay
Leong Kar YenPublished: Mar 22, 2001 12:38 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Information Minister Khalil Yaakob today told reporters that there was "no reason" for the delay in the release letters for the sale of foreign weeklies Far Eastern Economic Review and Asiaweek.
"It is very normal for delays to happen, even in Singapore there have been delays many times," he said when asked after an informal dialogue session with foreign journalists in Kuala Lumpur.
The March 15 and 22 issues for the Review and the March 16 and 23 issues for Asiaweek have yet to be released. The distribution of two previous editions of both magazines was delayed for up to three weeks.
The release letters for the sale of the foreign publications are usually given at the beginning of each week after a few copies are submitted to the ministry for vetting a few days earlier.
Khalil's statement today appeared to differ with that of Deputy Home Minister Zainal Abidin Zin yesterday when approached in Parliament.
Zainal told malaysiakini that the government's delay in approving the distribution of the weeklies was "most probably" due to negative reports on Malaysia. ([#1]Magazine's woes could be linked to negative reports[/#], March 21)
When asked about the delay, Review managing editor Michael Vatikiotis, who was also at the dialogue today, said he had "no comments" on the matter.
During the dialogue with about 50 representatives of the foreign media, which included Asiaweek, South China Morning Post and Singapore Straits Times, Khalil regretted that foreign correspondents hardly contact the Information Ministry for news.
"They do not talk to us. They only talk to the top or the bottom but never the middle, which is us," he said.
"Please visit (us) as the idea is to make us available to clarify reports about Malaysian leaders, which are wrongly written," he added.
He added that since some articles written by the foreign media were not "factual" according to the local authorities' point of view, he advised the journalists to speak to the ministry.
Stony silence
There has been almost over one month of silence on the ministry's part with regard to the continuously delayed distribution of the Review and Asiaweek. Asiaweek raised Mahathir's ire when it published an unflattering photo of him in its Jan 26 issue, which the prime minister said attempted to portray him as an "idiot".
The Review and Asiaweek have a readership of 15,000 and 25,000 respectively in Malaysia. Internet versions of the current editions of both magazines are already online.
"It is very normal for delays to happen, even in Singapore there have been delays many times," he said when asked after an informal dialogue session with foreign journalists in Kuala Lumpur.
The March 15 and 22 issues for the Review and the March 16 and 23 issues for Asiaweek have yet to be released. The distribution of two previous editions of both magazines was delayed for up to three weeks.
The release letters for the sale of the foreign publications are usually given at the beginning of each week after a few copies are submitted to the ministry for vetting a few days earlier.
Khalil's statement today appeared to differ with that of Deputy Home Minister Zainal Abidin Zin yesterday when approached in Parliament.
Zainal told malaysiakini that the government's delay in approving the distribution of the weeklies was "most probably" due to negative reports on Malaysia. ([#1]Magazine's woes could be linked to negative reports[/#], March 21)
When asked about the delay, Review managing editor Michael Vatikiotis, who was also at the dialogue today, said he had "no comments" on the matter.
During the dialogue with about 50 representatives of the foreign media, which included Asiaweek, South China Morning Post and Singapore Straits Times, Khalil regretted that foreign correspondents hardly contact the Information Ministry for news.
"They do not talk to us. They only talk to the top or the bottom but never the middle, which is us," he said.
"Please visit (us) as the idea is to make us available to clarify reports about Malaysian leaders, which are wrongly written," he added.
He added that since some articles written by the foreign media were not "factual" according to the local authorities' point of view, he advised the journalists to speak to the ministry.
Stony silence
There has been almost over one month of silence on the ministry's part with regard to the continuously delayed distribution of the Review and Asiaweek. Asiaweek raised Mahathir's ire when it published an unflattering photo of him in its Jan 26 issue, which the prime minister said attempted to portray him as an "idiot".
The Review and Asiaweek have a readership of 15,000 and 25,000 respectively in Malaysia. Internet versions of the current editions of both magazines are already online.
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