SEAPA DENIES GIVING MALAYSIAKINI FUNDS FROM SOROS' FOUNDATION

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The South East Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) has denied that any of the funds it gave the online newspaper 'Malaysiakini' came from financier George Soros' Open Society Foundation (OSF).

"None of the funds that SEAPA has provided to Malaysiakini come directly or indirectly from the OSI or George Soros," said the Bangkok-based federation of Southeast Asian press advocacy groups.

SEAPA said it only received from OSF a grant to support the work of a project consultant from the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists to work with SEAPA for 24 months ending in May.

"This is the only support that SEAPA has received from OSI and it was used to fund the consultant's work and part of the administrative requirements of running SEAPA's Bangkok office," it said in a statement.

The Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), in its latest issue, reported that OSF was one of the financial backers of Malaysiakini.

On Friday, Malaysiakini denied this while FEER managing editor Michael Vatikiotis issued a clarification, saying the OSF "funds SEAPA, one source of funding for Malaysiakini.com".

SEAPA said Vatikiotis' "partial clarification" was misleading as none of the funds it gave Malaysiakini came directly or indirectly from OSF.

On its relationship with Malaysiakini, SEAPA said it had assisted the online newspaper since Dec 1999 as part of an effort to promote the development of independent media in Southeast Asia.

"In Malaysia, SEAPA has helped raise startup and operating capital for Malaysiakini and organised last October a dialogue with Malaysian journalists on access to information.

"SEAPA supports Malaysiakini as part of a regional effort for the plurality and openess in the regional media," it said.

SEAPA said it received support from a consortium of donors including Unesco and United Nations Development Programme, and that its member organisations were recognised throughout the region for their independence and committment to press freedom.

-- BERNAMA