PETALING JAYA: The Heat weekly, which was suspended by the Home Ministry last week, has refuted claims that it ran foul of printing regulations warranting the suspension.
A statement posted in The Ant Daily, which is in the HCK Media stable of companies as The Heat, said the weekly newspaper had replied two show-cause letters (dated Nov 27, 2013 and Dec 2, 2013) issued by the Home Ministry within the time frame provided.
“The Heat was originally approved on July 8, 2013 as a weekly publication under the “Economy/Social” category. Subsequently, it applied to change its category to “Current Affairs”. Approval was given on Sept 18, 2013,” the statement read.
There had been a furore over the suspension of the newspaper and many, including opposition chief Anwar Ibrahim, had criticised the government for such a move.
Industry sources however reveal that the newspaper was suspended following extensive reports on the spending of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor while travelling overseas.
The Sun newspaper today reported that action was taken against the newspaper for violating provisions in the printing permit.
It was supposed to operate as a business magazine but the publishers has instead used it to run a weekly newspaper.
The Home Minister’s press secretary, Kol Fadzlette Othman Merican was quoted as saying that The Heat looked like a daily newspaper with current news, when its permit was for publication of a magazine
The weekly, in the statement today, said:” The editors have met officials of the Home Ministry again today, and we are extending our full cooperation to the ministry to fully resolve the matter.”
“The ministry has assured us that it will consider The Heat’s appeal to lift the suspension in a fair and prompt manner,” the statement said.
No comments:
Post a Comment