Utusan gets slap on the wrist from Home Ministry. Reprimand. No demand!

The Home Ministry today issued a reprimand letter (a reprimand letter requires no follow up action by the newspaper, as compared with a demand to show cause, and is akin to just a slap on the wrist. ) to Utusan Malaysia over the daily's front page article on May 7, titled Kristian Agama Rasmi? (Christianity the official religion?).

According to a Home Ministry statement, Utusan's editor-in-chief Aziz Ishak was called and the letter handed to him and its practice was to call and demand an explanation from news organisations on their decision to publish materials that were deemed to be against the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, and issue a reprimand letter for that offence. 

The statement that was issued just hours after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak held a meeting with Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said, "The Home Ministry will continue to monitor every newspaper in order to prevent news which would menggemparkan (infuriate) the minds of the people or material that is against the PPPA 1984."