Malaysian court orders newspaper to reveal online commenters

A court in Kuala Lumpur has ordered the editor of Malaysian online newspaper Malaysia Today to reveal the identity of commenters, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has reported.

Editor Raja Petra Kamarudin has also been told to remove three articles after libel proceedings were brought against him by lawyer Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Abdullah is suing the editor over the articles and comments, which claimed he was responsible for ‘trumped up charges’ in a recent lawsuit against a politician in the country.

RSF has condemned the court order and has called for its withdrawal.

“The court order is invalid as it is only effective in Malaysia and Malaysia Today is hosted on a server in the United States. This should be taken up with a US court,” the organisation said.

Tags: Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Kamarudin, Reporters Without Borders

Time Out launches Kuala Lumpur site, Hong Kong launch imminent

Time Out has this week launched a new listings and entertainments news website in Kuala Lumpur and plans to launch a similar site in Hong Kong next month.

The online launches coincide with sister print title launches in the territories. Developments in Hong Kong will bring the total number of international Time Out web/print publications to 24 in 18 countries including Sydney, Kiev and New York.

Time Out, which also launched in Barcelona in January, plans seven further launches in 2008, including titles in Belgrade, Budapest, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Tags: Bangkok, Barcelona, Belgrade, Budapest, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, New York, online launches, similar site, Sydney, web/print publications