SINGAPORE: The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has ordered the States Times Review to take down an article which the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has said is baseless and defamatory. If the alternative news website fails to do so by 5pm on Friday (Nov 9), IMDA will direct Internet Service Providers to restrict access to the site, it said in a statement. The article in question, titled “Lee Hsien Loong becomes 1MDB’s key investigation target”, was posted on Monday on the website. It alleged that Malaysia had signed several unfair agreements with Singapore in exchange for Singapore banks’ assistance in laundering the funds of Malaysian state fund 1MDB. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Friday morning it has filed a police report over the article, which it said was false, defamatory and “impugned its integrity”. “Accordingly, IMDA has assessed that the article undermined public confidence in the integrity of the Singapore Government and is objectionable on grounds of public interest, and would therefore constitute prohibited content under IMDA’s Internet Code of Practice,” the media authority said. IMDA said it has also asked Facebook to take down a post sharing the article. As of 4pm on Friday, a check by Channel NewsAsia showed that both the article and the Facebook post had not been taken down. “ERRONEOUS” CLAIMS, SAYS SOURCE QUOTED IN ARTICLE The States Times Review article also said that the editor of Sarawak Report, Ms Clare Rewcastle, had revealed in an interview with Malaysian media that “Singapore is one of the key investigation targets, alongside Switzerland… [Read full story]
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