CARTOON CONTROVERSY ENVELOPS MALAYSIA'S PREMIER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000313

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2016
TAGS: PHUM KDEM PGOV KISL KPAO MY
SUBJECT: CARTOON CONTROVERSY ENVELOPS MALAYSIA'S PREMIER
ENGLISH DAILY

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 232 (NOTAL)

B. KUALA LUMPUR 267 (NOTAL)

Classified By: PolCouns Thomas F. Daughton for reasons 1.4 b, d.


1. (C) SUMMARY: A new cartoon controversy erupted in Malaysia
on February 20 when the country,s second-largest
English-language newspaper, the New Straits Times (NST),
published a syndicated cartoon poking fun at the global
Prophet Muhammad cartoon controversy. Muslim NGOs and the
Islamic opposition party immediately lodged police complaints
against the newspaper, claiming that the cartoon insulted
Islam. The NST responded by prominently reprinting the
cartoon above an editorial that accused its detractors of
engaging in personal vendettas and seeking political gain.
The internal security ministry then summoned the newspaper,s
chief executive officer and editor-in-chief for an
"interview," and demanded a written explanation for the
NST,s actions. Prime Minister Abdullah's decision
concerning possible punishment of the NST is expected
shortly. Observers suggest the controversy is being fueled
by the ambitions of the new minister of information. As the
NST is owned by the prime minister's own political party
(UMNO),eventual punishment seems likely to be confined to
the newspaper's senior editors. End Summary.

My Funny Cartoon is Your Offensive Caricature
--------------


2. (SBU) On February 20 the NST published a syndicated
"Non-Sequitur" cartoon from the U.S. depicting a caricaturist
doing a sketch while waiting for customers. A sign next to
him reads, "Caricatures of Muhammad While You Wait!" The
cartoon,s caption reads, "Kevin finally achieves his goal to
be the most feared man in the world..." The day after the
cartoon's publication, three Muslim NGOs and the Islamic
opposition party, PAS, lodged police reports against the NST,
alleging that the cartoon was insulting to Islam. PAS Youth
Chief Salahuddin Ayub, who filed his party's complaint, told
the media, "The act of publishing the cartoon could threaten
national security, as it is defamatory and can weaken
national unity." PAS and the NGOs collectively demanded that
unspecified "action" be taken against the newspaper and its
editorial staff.


3. (SBU) The latest cartoon controversy follows recent GOM
punishment of two newspapers that printed "offensive"
caricatures of Muhammad. On February 9, after the Sarawak
Tribune printed one of the now-infamous Danish cartoons,
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi used the Printing Presses and
Publications Act to suspend the paper's publication license
and operations indefinitely (ref A). The PM, who is also
internal security minister, declared any future publication
of the Danish cartoons to be illegal. The GOM then suspended
publication of the Chinese-language Guang Ming Daily for two
weeks starting February 16 after it published a photo of a
man reading a newspaper in which the Danish cartoons were
published.

The NST Counterattacks...
--------------


4. (C) Unlike the cartoons published in the Sarawak Tribune
and the Guang Ming Daily, the NST,s cartoon contained no
image of Muhammad. And while the two punished newspapers
printed front-page apologies in response to initial police
reports lodged against them, the NST promptly counterattacked
in its February 22 edition. The newspaper reprinted the
offending cartoon on page 3 and, in an editorial appearing
directly under it, accused the NGOs, PAS and unnamed
"powerful" individuals of engaging in personal vendettas and
seeking political gains. The editorial implied that the
NST,s editors were being targeted for retribution in
response to the NST,s "truthful" reporting. The editorial
concluded with the NST,s rationale for its strong public
response to the police reports: "What are we saying of our
own selves and our country if we allow people with personal
motives to capitalize on religious and racial sensitivities
to victimize others?"


5. (C) The NST's senior foreign news editor, K.P. Waran, told
poloff that the controversy would have likely been defused by
the prime minister had Abdullah not been traveling abroad
when it flared up. Waran claimed the PM had seen the cartoon
and found nothing offensive in it. He said the NST's
editorial staff believed that newly appointed Information
Minister Zainuddin Maidin (ref B) wanted to act as
"supereditor" of all major newspapers in the country. He
further speculated that Zainuddin "wants to replace the NST's
senior editors with his own people, and will use the cartoon

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controversy as the pretext" for such action. Waran noted
that the cartoon was not reviewed by the subeditor in charge
of the newspaper's multiple-page comics section, where it
initially appeared in the normal daily section allocated to
syndicated cartoons. He believed the editors would have
stopped its publication had they noticed the cartoon's
content in advance, but the editor-in-chief chose nonetheless
to reprint the cartoon to defend the NST from "uncalled-for
criticisms."

And the Government Responds In Kind
--------------


6. (C) On February 22, the internal security ministry
summoned the NST,s CEO and editor-in-chief for questioning.
They were interviewed by the ministry,s secretary general
and presented with a "show-cause" letter demanding an
explanation of their actions in printing (and reprinting) the
cartoon. The letter allows the NST three days to prepare its
reply. The dispute has been prominently covered by the media
here, including on the NST,s entire front page February 23.


7. (C) Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin told the media
February 22 that the cabinet had discussed the NST cartoon
issue during its regular meeting that day. Following that
meeting he said, "The action of NST to re-publish a cartoon
deemed to belittle the Holy Prophet is not wise and an
uncalled-for provocation." Zainuddin admitted the cartoon
could be interpreted in a number of different ways, but
asserted that "not everyone could look at it intellectually."
According to press reports about the closed cabinet meeting,
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar joined Zainuddin in
condemning the NST,s actions and called for punitive action.
Other ministers, including Law Minister Nazri Aziz and Works
Minister Samy Vellu, reportedly desired no government
response. Prime Minister Abdullah is expected to announce
his decision concerning punishment of the NST and its editors
soon after the GOM receives the editors, written
explanations for their actions.


8. (C) COMMENT: Zainuddin showed more than a little daring
in manipulating the cartoon controversy to his advantage
while the prime minister was out of the country. The new
information minister was nonetheless careful to tell the
media that a final decision would not be made until Abdullah
returned. While Zainuddin has put the PM in a sticky
position, the notoriously non-controntational Abdullah seems
unlikely to fire him after less than a week in office. If
the GOM takes action against the NST, it will probably be a
matter of replacing senior staff rather than suspending the
paper's publishing license. The New Straits Times is, after
all, Malaysia's oldest newspaper and one of the oldest
English-language dailies in Southeast Asia, an establishment
standard long owned by the country's main political party.
Whatever the outcome, the assertion of power by the new
information minister does not bode well for press freedom in
Malaysia, particularly for the limited number of outlets not
controlled by the parties of the ruling coalition.
LAFLEUR