home ministry – so arrogant! (re: herald permit)

quote from malaysiakini – ‘herald sweats on status of annual permit‘:

Wire agency Reuters quoted Deputy Home Minister Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as saying: "Until Dec 31, we are not going to announce anything. There is plenty of time till them. Let them wait."

that was from the deputy home minister. earlier…

The Home Ministry, when contacted today, said the application for renewal of the Herald permit is still being processed.

Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit senior officer Che Din Yusof said: "The ministry is reviewing thousands of publishing permits around this time, and we have to do it quickly.

“Herald will know whether it is successful in its application before its permit expires.”

huh? herald’s permit expires on dec. 28 now it is already dec. 18 – only 10 days to go. are they going to wait till last minute – on dec. 27 – to inform herald whether the permit is renewed? why wait till last minute? herald is a publishing company. herald needs to work. there are staff there. the staff needs to work. why purposely wants to let ‘herald sweat’?  (as malaysiakini put it).

than what was this about the deputy home minister who arrogantly said "Until Dec 31, we are not going to announce anything. There is plenty of time till them. Let them wait."

dec. 31? but herald’s permit expire on dec. 28 why wait till dec. 31?

"let them wait"? see, mr DHM is really wanting herald to sweat it out!

i wonder is this how home ministries in other countries work? wait till last minute?

fr. lawrence, the editor of herald, fear that the permit may not be renewed. he had said:

"I cannot understand all the fuss as the Herald is only being sold in churches and not to the public. We have a limited (print run that) specifically caters to Roman Catholics."

yeah, why all the fuss indeed? herald is not sold in public.the  herald are sent to all catholic churches in the country and the church then sells them inside the church to its parishioners. 

Lawrence said the newsletter covers political and current affairs and that the ministry should not impose restrictions or stop the publication.

"We ran issues on the election to encourage our congregation to vote. Similarly, we ran an issue on the Internal Security Act. These are of public interest and not only highlighted by us, but the media as well," he said.

"Why are they taking action against us? Why are they keeping it to the very last minute (to tell us) whether or not the permit will be renewed? I hope they will inform us early."

i remember many months back the home ministry had issued warning to herald not to write on politics. it said that herald should stick to religion matters only (the HM’s own interpretation of religion). it’s so ridiculous!

i really hope herald’s permit will be renewed. there’s no reason for the home ministry not to. i had mentioned before many times, i contribute articles to herald, so i do want to see herald continuing its publication.

here is the full article from malaysiakini.

————————————————————

‘Herald’ sweats on status of annual permit
Hafiz Yatim
Dec. 17, 08 6:00pm

Will the Dec 28 edition of the

MCPX

Herald-The Catholic Weekly be the last? This is the question on the mind of Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the weekly newsletter.

With the annual publishing permit expiring at month’s end, the Home Ministry has yet to indicate if this will be renewed.

"Our last publication will be on Dec 28, just after Christmas, and I am worried it could be our last," Lawrence said when contacted.

"I cannot understand all the fuss as the Herald is only being sold in churches and not to the public. We have a limited (print run that) specifically caters to Roman Catholics."

The newsletter’s Bahasa Malaysia version caters for indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak, but the weekly is also published in English, Chinese and Tamil. It has a weekly circulation of 14,000 and an estimated readership of 50,000.

Herald had run into difficulties with the authorities late last year over the use of the word ‘Allah’ in referring to ‘God’ in Bahasa Malaysia. It is currently embroiled in a civil suit against the government over the order.

Lawrence (left in photo) said the newsletter covers political and current affairs and that the ministry should not impose restrictions or stop the publication.

"We ran issues on the election to encourage our congregation to vote. Similarly, we ran an issue on the Internal Security Act. These are of public interest and not only highlighted by us, but the media as well," he said.

"Why are they taking action against us? Why are they keeping it to the very last minute (to tell us) whether or not the permit will be renewed? I hope they will inform us early."

On the progress of the court case, Lawrence said it is expected to resume in February to hear the applications of the interveners.

‘Thousands of applications’

The Home Ministry, when contacted today, said the application for renewal of the Herald permit is still being processed.

Publications Control and Al-Quran Texts Unit senior officer Che Din Yusof said: "The ministry is reviewing thousands of publishing permits around this time, and we have to do it quickly.

“Herald will know whether it is successful in its application before its permit expires.”

Wire agency Reuters quoted Deputy Home Minister Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as saying: "Until Dec 31, we are not going to announce anything. There is plenty of time till them. Let them wait."