KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Sin Chew Daily) — Malaysia Chinese Newspaper Editor Association (PPACM) expressed shock that the court found Malaysiakini in contempt of court with a RM500,000 fine.

The association called the verdict a "shocking" precedent that could choke the media industry.

In addition to altering the existing new media ecosystem, the association said the court's decision would also pose a significant psychological burden to the media industry as well as the internet world as a whole.

"The media constitutes a public social tool tasked with the obligation of conveying the people's voices. The verdict will spawn undesirable chain effects and will have a serious bearing on future deliberation of public issues."

The association was of the opinion that the federal court's verdict would compel all online media platforms to review their existing commenting systems, dealing a severe blow on efforts to safeguard news and speech freedoms.