When will Malaysians be treated like adults...and be allowed to enjoy freedom of expression/opinion, press freedom...

Again, there are moves taken by the UMNO-led BN government to further curb freedom of expression/opinion, press freedom and freedom of information. These moves may also be geared to enhance FEAR in Malaysians,  a fear that would generate the ideal all-accepting non-critical Malaysian, who really is not interested in issues of justice, human rights, accountability, transparency, democracy, etc - but just the EPL, good movies, and...

The very fact that there are no independent radio stations, community radio stations, television stations is an indication of  the state of freedom of expression/opinion, press freedom... The mainstream print media certainly is not at all very critical of any UMNO-led BN government policy and/or decisions. The fear of being shut down suddenly - as was done to the Star in 1987 still lingers in the mind of the owners - and this has even led to self-censorship, even beyond what the government wants.

The recent restrictions ...or is it 'banning' of the publications of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), PAS's Harakah and DAP's Rocket, amongst others, is just another spate of repression against universally recognized freedoms and rights. In fact, these actions against publications have been ongoing... 

The Home Ministry issued a reprimand and took action against 10 publications between January and June this year for violation of provisions in the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, according to a statement today.

The publications were Harian Metro, Metro Ahad, Kosmo, Oriental Daily, China Press, Nanyang Siang Pau, Uthaya Surian, Suara Keadilan, Suara Perkasa and Harakah, secretary of the ministry's Publications Control and Quranic Text Division, Zaitun Abd Samad, said in the statement.- Malaysiakini, 10/7/2010, 10 publications run foul of Home Ministry

The Home Ministry yesterday suspended PKR organ Suara Keadilan's publishing permit for running foul of the Printing Presses and Publication Act (PPPA).

The ministry said in a statement that it was not satisfied with the explanation provided by the weekly tabloid. Therefore, its annual publishing permit, which expired yesterday, would not be renewed. - Malaysiakini, 2/7/2010, Home Ministry suspends Suara Keadilan's permit  

PAS mouthpiece Harakah says it will continue to publish despite its publication permit expiring yesterday.

"We will print as usual. The show-cause letter from the Home Ministry did not stipulate that we cannot continue publishing it," Harakah's acting chief editor Taufek Yahya said today. - Malaysiakini, 8/7/2010, And now, Harakah faces suspension

In a country, where there are a lot of 'secrets', and the ordinary person really has no way of getting information, confirmations....the truth. The only avenue, for getting information seems to be through Parliamentary questions - and it really is difficult to get MPs to ask the questions that you want answers to. And, sometime the answers given are really not even answers to the questions raised. If information was easily available, one could easily cross-check and discover the truth. If the UMNO-led BN was accessible, one could send an e-mail, pick up a phone or .... and get immediate clarifications/responses, and that will be good. But alas, the response time of government (if they ever respond..) is just too long, and no one is going to suppress information/'truth' that they have just because the Malaysian government is slow to respond.

And, if a statement is false - then, the appropriate response is to deny it in the media. [And, noting that the government's access to media is large - TV,Radio, etc..., there is no real risk of the people being deceived... ]

What about lies told by the government? ... 

NEP's success :- Was it not wrong to just tell us about equity distribution based on share ownership? What about land ownership amongst the different ethnic communities? What about the ethnic compositions of doctors, engineers, architects, accountants, teachers, ...other professionals? What about the ethnic ownership of the different economic sectors? What about the economic well-being of persons...and families - not just based based on ethnicity, something that will hide the fact that the policy had really enriched a small percentage among an ethnic group whilst the majority has hardly benefited. I wonder really how Razak's son (Najib's brother) and Mahathir's son are amongst the 40 most richest persons in Malaysia?   

There are more....and maybe all of it is just 'nothing' and could have been fires extinguishable by real transparency and information (now hidden away in the 'official secrets' closet)

We have been lied to so often by the UMNO-led BN government, and even some of the Opposition political parties and personalities, that Malaysians generally take everything with a 'pinch of salt' ... Among the opposition, some are trusted more than the rest.

If there is an assertion that you do not agree to...then respond with words..not the law, and let the people be the final judges of the truth. 

We really do not need an anti-false news panel....and look at who is in it. Let me pick on Rais Yatim  - as far as I know, he did not tell Malaysians that Malaysian Heritage Board was against the demolition of the Pudu Jail...did he not 'lie'? No...he did not lie, only hid from us opinions that did not support what he wanted to do ....i.e. tear down and destroy forever that historical site...[Pudu Jail: Government ignored National Heritage Board when they brought the walls down]

 

The Home Ministry has set up a committee to formulate the government's communication strategy besides thwarting the dissemination of false news by irresponsible people.

Its minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the committee was also made up of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Aziz and Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim.

He said the committee's secretariat was housed at the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister's Department.

"The government believes that if lies and false news churned out by irresponsible people continue unabated, these irresponsible people will think they are right while the public will continue to be deceived," he told reporters in Putrajaya today.

The committee met for the first time three days ago, during which it decided to create a high-level task force and meet at least once a month, he said, adding that Nazri and Rais attended the meeting.

Hishammuddin said the committee also discussed amendments to the laws, training of investigating officers, treatment of witnesses and the definition of false news.

In another development, Hishammuddin said the Home Ministry would implement the police station league to adjudge the performance and services of police stations nationwide.

"Police stations which display excellent performance will receive a recognition while the officers and policemen will receive incentives.

"This is aimed at promoting an excellent work culture and a healthy competition among police stations," he added.

- Bernama - Malaysiakini, 9/7/2010, Hisham, Nazri, Rais to head anti-false news panel