Putrajaya’s hard stance on Qatar-based global news channel Al Jazeera is a sign that the once powerful Saudi lobby is returning to its former influence on the policies of the Malaysian government, MalaysiaNow has learnt.
Diplomatic sources have spoken of efforts to pressure the authorities into coming down hard on Al Jazeera, whose documentary on Malaysia’s treatment of migrants during the lockdown earlier this year sparked a string of actions against the news channel’s journalists.
Al Jazeera, financed by the Qatari government which is locked in a cold war stand-off with Riyadh and its Gulf allies, has condemned Malaysian police investigations into its journalists over the documentary aired on its 101 East programme in July.
“Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown” investigated the plight of thousands of undocumented migrant workers who were arrested during raids in Kuala Lumpur despite earlier assurance by the authorities that no immigration swoops would be conducted on foreign workers during the movement control order (MCO), Malaysia’s version of the pandemic lockdown which was eased in June.
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