The Malaysian government has charged an editor of the Malay Mail newspaper with publishing false information, in a satirical blog that poked fun at the national electricity company, Tenaga Nasional.
Irwan Abdul Rahman, editor of the paper's lifestyle section, could face a year's jail-sentence if convicted. He pleaded not guilty to the charge in a sessions court near Kuala Lumpur.
Abdul Rahman wrote a satirical piece, "TNB to sue WWF over Earth Hour," in March, which claimed that the head of Tenaga would sue the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) environmental group for urging people to switch off their lights for the annual Earth Hour initiative.
He deleted the entry when the company filed a police complaint against him but said that his joke on the blog does not harm anyone. Earlier this week, the editor wrote that he was hoping for "cool heads and a developed sense of humour to prevail".
Malaysia's opposition has condemned the prosecution as "not only harsh but ridiculous". And the country's media activists said such measures undermine freedom of speech.
