Tashny Sukumaran, the Malaysian news correspondent of South China Morning Post, has been selected by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as one of the 30 coronavirus Information Heroes.
RSF, a global journalism watchdog based in Paris, has compiled a list of 30 coronavirus Information Heroes – 30 journalists, whistleblowers and media outlets whose courage, perseverance or capacity to innovate has helped to circulate reliable and vital information during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The list includes the White House press corps for its persistence in grilling US President Donald Trump and the ill-fated Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang who was reprimanded for trying to highlight news of the outbreak and later succumbed to the disease.
Recently, Tashny was summoned by the police as she covered the mass arrest of migrant workers as part of the country’s efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The journalist was then investigated by Bukit Aman for two hours on May 6th under Section 504 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for her tweets about the immigration raid.
This was despite Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s instruction for the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to drop its own investigation.
Tashny’s lawyer New Sin Yew told Malaysiakini that “the authorities have not contacted us since the questioning last month. We do not anticipate them to do so because there is no offence committed by Tashny. It’s plain harassment.”
Congrats, Tashny!
