KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian police on Tuesday
said they will summon reporters of news broadcaster Al Jazeera
for questioning over a documentary on the country's arrests of
undocumented migrants, which authorities have accused of being
an attempt to tarnish Malaysia's image.
"Locked up in Malaysia's Lockdown", produced by the
Qatar-based station's 101 East news programme, focused on the
plight of thousands of undocumented migrants detained during
raids carried out in areas under tight coronavirus lockdowns.
The documentary, which aired last week, sparked an immediate
backlash online while several officials decried the report as
being inaccurate, misleading and unfair.
The backlash comes amid concerns over crackdowns on press
freedoms under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government,
which came into power in March, as well as rising anger towards
foreigners and refugees, who have been accused of spreading the
coronavirus and burdening state resources.
Defence minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob this week called on Al
Jazeera to apologise to Malaysians, and said allegations of
racism and discrimination against undocumented migrants were
untrue.
Authorities had previously defended the arrests as necessary
to uphold the law and stem the spread of the pandemic.
Police will call in Al Jazeera staff as part of a probe
opened after several complaints filed against the documentary,
Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador told reporters on
Tuesday.
"It is the police's responsibility to investigate to see if
there are any elements of sedition or wrongdoing," he said,
according to a video of his comments posted by news portal
Malaysia Gazette.
Spokespeople for Al Jazeera did not respond to an emailed
request for comment.
Separately on Tuesday, Malaysia's immigration department
issued a search notice for a Bangladeshi national whose name,
details and photos match those of a migrant worker interviewed
in the documentary.
The investigation is the latest in a recent series of
clampdowns against reporters and activists that rights groups
say are aimed at stifling dissent.
In May, a journalist from the Hong Kong-based South China
Morning Post was questioned by police over her reporting on the
migrant arrests.