Asia-Pacific, Headlines

MALAYSIA: Debates Show Long Way to Go in Changing Media Scene

Mustafa Ali

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 2003 (IPS) - Despite louder calls for press freedom in recent years, there is a long way to go before Malaysian society and its much-controlled media get a taste of real freedom, recent debates among journalists and authorities show.

The latest reminder came on May 2, when Zulkifi Sulong, editor of ‘Harakah’ magazine, a publication of the Islamic opposition party Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), was found guilty under the Sedition Act.

Sulong’s conviction was related to an article the popular newspaper carried four years ago on the trial of ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is now in jail for corruption and sodomy, charges that his supporters are politically motivated.

For critics of the state of the largely government-controlled media in Malaysia, the ‘Harakah’ conviction explains why the country is in 110th position – well below Indonesia, Thailand the Philippines – in the recently launched press freedom index of the French-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.

Indonesia was ranked 57th, Thailand 65th, and the Philippines 89th. Brunei ranked 111st and Singapore is not listed due to "lack of information".

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in its report for World Press Freedom Day on May 3, says it sees no sign of improvement in media freedom even after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad steps down in October.

"His designated successor is likely to continue the legal coercion and ownership restrictions that have been in effect for 25 years," it pointed out.

But these evaluations carried little weight with government officials here, who in recent days have been reacting also to calls made by South-east Asian journalists’ groups for more space for media freedom.

"The Indonesians and Filipinos don’t even have enough to fill their stomachs. Who are they to lecture us on press freedom? We are more qualified because we have full stomachs," Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin told Malaysian journalists at at a discussion last week.

Speaking at a forum by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Maidin said that Malaysia should follow its own concept of guided press freedom.

"We (Malaysians) have to establish our own press freedom concepts and values. It has been proven that we have the ability to be stable, to suppress extremism through guided press freedom," he said, adding that western media had itself abandoned media freedom values in the Iraq war coverage.

In recent weeks, several Malaysian politicians have also attacked and threatened to ban the London-based ‘Economist’ weekly magazine for being ill-willed against Malaysia. In its survey titled ‘The Changing of the Guard – A Survey of Malaysia’, the magazine analysed the prospective change in premiership, Malaysia’s economic achievements under Mahathir’s leadership and political challenges facing its leadership in retaining the support of majority Malays.

At another forum organised by the Malaysia-based Asian Institute for Development Communication (AIDCOM), English-language ‘New Straits Times’ associate editor Rehman Rashid said that there are some journalists in Malaysia who believe that restrictions imposed on media are not only needed but vital.

Frankly saying that his newspaper is pro-government, Rashid however said that he believes that diversity among media is important so that the audience would have more choices. "Before freedom of the press, we should have freedom of information. It is enough for us to get you information and let you have them," he said.

For the associate editor of the ‘Star’ newspaper, Bunn Negara, press freedom is a question of degree. It can be seen in several ways depending on how people in each society perceive it, he explains.

"Before talking about press freedom, one has to answer several questions such as press freedom is for what purpose, for whom, to do what and by what standard," he added.

The ‘Star’, the biggest English-language daily, is owned by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a Chinese Malaysian party within the ruling coalition led by the dominant United Malays Nationalist Organisation (UMNO) of Mahathir.

Steven Gan, editor-in-chief of the independent on-line newspaper ‘Malaysiakini’, said that although Internet media is not limited by the licensing system that governs printed or broadcast media, there are still over 30 laws in Malaysia that limit their freedom.

CPJ says that Malaysia’s media environment, except for news appearing on the Internet, remains restrictive, characterised by strict licensing laws, self-censorship and pervasive political influence.

The CPJ report mentions cases that illustrate such tight control. These include the suspension of the Malay-language tabloid ‘Perdana’ over a report on the leader of the UMNO female youth wing, and the suspension of the publishing permit of the new Chinese newspaper ‘Oriental Daily News’.

CPJ also expresses doubt on the proposal by what it calls the "conservative, private" Malaysian Press Institute to set up a media council.

This move does not intend to seek the repeal of the existing Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, but aims to become "a semi-governmental body with additional power to control the media", CPJ says.

Despite the restrictive environment, however, critical questions are being asked by some Malaysians, including a young listener who aired his queries at the end of the AIDCOM forum.

"We don’t want media to be pro-government. We want them to be pro-fairness," he said. "As a consumer, where do I get information if the media don’t do it? Where do we go from now?" he asked.

 
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