PETALING JAYA: Former Free Malaysia Today (FMT) journalist Rex Tan was arrested at about 12.45am after being summoned to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters. The arrest followed a sensitive question alleged to contain racial elements that was raised during a public lecture in Kuala Lumpur. On Friday (Jan 16), media reports said Tan had resigned from FMT, a day after he apologised on Thursday (Jan 15) over the question he posed during the lecture, which sparked controversy. The Malaysian Media Council later condemned the doxxing, harassment and intimidation of journalists following the backlash against Tan. FMT subsequently issued an apology, stating that it had no prior knowledge of the journalist’s intention to raise the question and had not approved his comments.

Source: The Star January 17, 2026 00:24 UTC