Allies question raid on journalist over Malaysia’s foreign worker system report

MALAYSIA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government is facing intense criticism after the police in Malaysia raided the home of a Malaysiakini journalist, B Nantha Kumar.

The raid is in connection with investigations into a report on the proposed foreign worker recruitment system.

On April 27, Nantha said two plainclothes police officers arrived at his home and searched his residence in Seri Serdang for about 45 minutes.

“However, no items were seized during the raid,” he said.

However, Nantha was presented with a search warrant stating that police had reason to suspect the premises were being used to store “official cabinet documents.”

The document in question is related to the Turap platform, which is a digital system proposed to centralise and streamline the recruitment of foreign workers into Malaysia, a multi-billion-dollar business.

Last week, police also recorded a statement from Malaysiakini founder and director Premesh Chandran regarding the matter, Malaysiakini reported.

Now, it is an ally in the Madani government, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), which is also a political party under the Barisan Nasional coalition, that is raising questions about the raid on the journalist’s home.

MCA Youth deputy chief Mike Chong Yew Chuan said these actions could have a worrying effect on media freedom.

“These developments raise serious questions about whether the actions are part of a proper investigation, or an attempt to pressure and intimidate the media,” Chong said.

Chong noted that the reports have raised legitimate public interest concerns, while there has been no clear indication that they have been proven false.

“This makes the enforcement actions taken against journalists even more questionable,” he added.

The initiative has drawn scrutiny from policymakers and industry stakeholders.

Ten PKR MPs had previously issued a joint statement opposing the proposed introduction of TURAP.

They cited concerns over overlapping systems alongside existing and planned government platforms. They raised questions over efficiency, transparency and market concentration.

PKR is the party of Anwar Ibrahim.

Opposition parties like Muda and Perikatan Nasional have slammed the Human Resources Ministry for lodging a police report against Nantha’s article on Turap.

According to reports, Nantha was called in on April 1 to give a statement under Section 203A of the Penal Code for alleged unauthorised disclosure of information and under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.