KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry failed in its bid to stay a High Court order that lifted the printing suspension of The Edge’s two business publications.
High Court judge Datuk Asmabi Mohamad disallowed the application by the home minister to temporarily stay the lifting of the three-month suspension pending appeal against the lifting order by the same court.
Senior federal counsel Alice Loke, who acted for the minister and the ministry's secretary-general, confirmed the outcome of the chamber matter today.
Loke said Asmabi ordered the minister and the ministry's secretary-general to pay RM4,000 in cost to The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd, the publisher of the two said publications - The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily.
She added that the Court of Appeal has not fixed a date to hear their appeal.
Counsel Darryl Goon appeared for The Edge Communications.
On Sept 21, the High Court quashed the ministry's order to suspend The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily for three months from July 27.
The court found that the letter from the ministry did not provide particulars of the suspension and did not state which article was alleged to be prejudiced or likely to be prejudicial to public order.
Among the reasons given for the suspension was that the publications' reporting on 1Malaysia Development Bhd(1MDB) was based on doubtful and unverified information, which might alarm the public, and could be prejudicial to public order and national interest.