Fact - Malaysia placed 107th in Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024’s World Press Freedom rankings, falling 34 spots from 73rd last year. This is MOST EMBARRASSING for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan-led Coalition Government...
Last year, 'Malaysia, the Southeast Asian nation with a checkered past where a free press is concerned, jumped 40 spots on the annual World Press Freedom Index of 180 countries released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday.Apart from recording the biggest jump in the report that coincided with World Press Freedom Day, Malaysia, at 73, ranked best among nations in the region.- Benar News, 3/5/2023
Comment: When Malaysia was under PN Rule until November 2022 and PH thereafter, Press Freedom jumped 40 Spots, but in the recent 2024 report, under PH-led coalition, it dropped 34 spots...
This is about Press Freedom, and I believe that the state of Freedom of Expression would have likely dropped. The PH-led government have been also going against social media....
Personally, me being a person who have long expressed my views about matters, some of which the government of the day may not like have suffered whereby my website ends up being being 'hacked' to the extend that i cannot even enter and add posts. Sometimes, post shared through social media to acquaintances also get 'blocked' sometimes by the some service provider like FB (but thankfully temporarily sometimes). Even now, my post from this BLOG is having problems - whereby the link to the post is having trouble being uploaded.... WHO is responsible is difficult to know? Is it the government or some other?Should not our GOVERNMENT be available to help internet users in this situation - help solve the problem????
Malaysians
OK with 'internet' and social media blackouts? Repeal laws that allow
for 'arbitrary' restrictions and censorships? - see Bar Resolution
Anwar's response was pathetic - again it used the 3R as an excuse, and mainly it has been about the ROYALTY if we consider the investigations and prosecutions reported. Anwar should tell us how Malaysia will improve Press Freedom, and not ignore the World Press Freedom rankings.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today defended the government’s “tough action” against inflammatory speeches, which indirectly contributed to Malaysia’s downgrade in the annual Reporters Without Borders annual World Press Freedom Index....Anwar yesterday said that while he has not compromised his stand on a free media’s role in a democracy, a line must be drawn on alleged attempts to incite racial hatred or sentiments against the royal institution.He cited the example of the recent controversy surrounding media reports on a purported casino project in Forest City, Johor, indirectly linked to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Talking about the casino project - Given the fact that the Malaysian royalty and rulers, and their family are also involved in business and companies, we need to clearly draw the line of when Malaysians can and must be critical of the royalty, even the King, and when they cannot.
Are we expected to be unquestioning and blindly loyal to whatever the King says or does?
Remember, in Malaysia, according to the Federal Constitution, the King really has no more freedom to do as he pleases - in most situation, he MUST(no option here) act based on the ADVICE of the Prime Minister, etc. Even, when it comes to Pardons, the King/Rulers have to act in accordance to the advice of the relevant Pardons Board.
Our Federal Constitution makes this VERY clear in Article 40, '...the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet or of a Minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution.
Today, in Malaysia, even the King and the Royalty can be charged and tried for criminal offences committed, and even be sued in civil cases.
Art. 183(3) The Special Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to try all offences committed in the Federation by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Ruler of a State and all civil cases by or against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the Ruler of a State notwithstanding where the cause of action arose.
So, even in the recent 'casino' allegation, I believe the State should not have commenced criminal action. Rather, the King, the Prime Minister or any party that felt that they have been defamed or slandered, they can personally commence civil suit against the alleged 'defamer/slanderer' since Malaysia already have the Special Courts..
In Malaysia now, the King no longer can BLOCK laws passed by Dewan Rakyat and Senate - if the King fails to give his assent within 30 days, it still will become law.
Article 66(4) states (4) The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall within thirty days after a Bill is presented to him assent to the Bill by causing the Public Seal to be affixed thereto. However, if the King do not assent within the stipulated 30 days, then according to Article 66(4A) which states, “…(4A) If a Bill is not assented to by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong within the time specified in Clause (4), it shall become law at the expiration of the time specified in that Clause in the like manner as if he had assented thereto…’
Therefore, the government should not use the institution of the royalty as an excuse or justification. Stop using 3R as a reason to erode Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression in Malaysia...Read LFL calls out PM over 'tough action on 3R' defence
See earlier post:-
Cabinet(or PM), not KING with power in Malaysia with regard Emergency and Parliament? King's OPINION only?
House Arrest for Najib? Even the King/Ruler must follow the Constitution/Law? - An opinion piece
LFL director Zaid Malek in a statement said Anwar’s message, delivered during the National Journalists Day (Hawana) celebrations in Kuching, Sarawak, yesterday, was “embarrassing, dishonest and totally unacceptable”.
“Coming from a sitting prime minister, it smacks of arrogance.
“It is the kind of response that one would expect from a leader of a banana republic,” claimed the lawyer, whose clients include political activist Syarul Ema Rena Abu Samah who was investigated last year over an alleged insult to the prime minister’s wife.
Anwar, who yesterday noted criticisms from international watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said “it does not matter if Malaysia was downgraded because we are tough against the racists and the religious bigots”.
Zaid (above), however, insisted that Anwar had failed to address the real basis of RSF’s criticisms and instead fallen back on the often-repeated 3R excuse.
“In fact, the real basis of RSF’s report on Malaysia was the blocking of news portals that are critical of the government such as Utusan TV, TV Pertiwi, MalaysiaNow, etc.
“TikTok videos of government critics have also been blocked by the MCMC,” said Zaid.
“Hence, Anwar’s claim that the fall in the index was because of government action on 3R issues is a deliberate distortion and false spin of the RSF report,” he stressed.
Take Malaysia’s downgrade seriously
Anwar yesterday said that while he has not compromised his stand on a free media’s role in a democracy, a line must be drawn on alleged attempts to incite racial hatred or sentiments against the royal institution.
He cited the example of the recent controversy surrounding media reports on a purported casino project in Forest City, Johor, indirectly linked to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Zaid, on the contrary, claimed that public criticism was actually focused on the prime minister’s alleged involvement in the purported talks, rather than on the king.
“By using the Bloomberg news as an example, the PM exposes the government’s recent tactics in censoring the press and freedom of speech, by using the King as a convenient wall of defence for the government crackdown,” he claimed.
As such, Zaid urged the government to take Malaysia’s downgrade in the World Press Freedom Index seriously and to accept that it is caused by the increasing action in blocking or censoring critical press.
“It is not enough to claim that the government respects freedom of the press; they must take proactive action to uphold freedom of the press by not interfering with the crucial work of the media, as the fourth estate upholding democracy,” he said.
Malaysia’s position in the World Press Freedom Index fell 34 places to 107th position compared to 73 last year, with a score of 52.07 points. - Malaysiakini, 28/5/2024
Malaysia placed 107th in Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024’s World Press Freedom rankings, falling 34 spots from 73rd last year.
For the first time in three years, Malaysia does not top the rankings for Asean countries with Thailand attaining 87th place.
“The threat of defamation proceedings keeps journalists on a short leash in Mongolia (109th), while news sites critical of the government are often blocked in Malaysia (107th),” the report accompanying the index noted.
Last year in August, attempts to access UtusanTV resulted in redirection to a generic government notice claiming a violation of law without specifying the nature of the violation.
Before that in June, MalaysiaNow was partially blocked, as some Celcom and Maxis users reported that they were unable to access the website.
DNS tampering is a common method used in Malaysia to censor “undesirable” online content including pornography, online gambling, and violent extremist sites.
This has also been used to block legitimate news sites in the past, including Malaysiakini’s election results site during the 14th general election in 2018.
However, this redirected internet users to a government notice stating that the website had been blocked by law, rather than resulting in a “connection timed out” error.
Resistance
In the report, Malaysia was described as “a culturally diverse constitutional monarchy. Although the federal government has a draconian legislative arsenal to restrict press freedom, these restrictions are resisted by a vibrant civil society.”
The country attained a score of 52.07 across five indicators: political (44.35), economic (45.63), legislative (34.04), social (52.62), and security (83.72).
The index showed Malaysia’s placement in the same company as the Maldives (106) and Burundi (108).
The rankings for the other Asean countries are as follows: Indonesia (111), Brunei (117), Singapore (126), Philippines (134), Cambodia (151), Laos (153), Myanmar (171), and Vietnam (174).
The report noted that two journalists were killed in the Philippines last year.
Timor-Leste, which is awaiting entry into Asean, ranked 20th, topping the list for Asian countries.
“Although experiencing challenges to the right to information, other regional democracies such as Timor-Leste (20), Samoa (22) and Taiwan (27) have also retained their roles as press freedom models,” the report said.
New Zealand ranks the highest for countries in the Asia-Pacific region at 19, a fall of six places, leaving no country from the region in the top 15.
According to the report, the Asia-Pacific region is the world’s second most difficult for journalists, with the Middle East being the most difficult.
“In the Asia-Pacific region - the world’s second most difficult region to practise journalism - five countries are among the world’s 10 most dangerous countries for media personnel.
“They are Myanmar (171), China (173), North Korea (172), Vietnam (175) and Afghanistan (178),” it commented.
The index ranks 180 countries on the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and the media.
RSF is an international organisation based in Paris which provides safety resources to journalists and conducts research on the state of press freedom worldwide.
The full index can be viewed here. - Malaysiakini, 3/5/2024
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today defended the government’s “tough action” against inflammatory speeches, which indirectly contributed to Malaysia’s downgrade in the annual Reporters Without Borders annual World Press Freedom Index.
In his speech at the National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2024, held in Kuching, Sarawak this year, Anwar noted RSF’s criticisms against the government as well as the attendance of the organisation’s representative at the event.
“If we allow racism to flourish, fascism or religious bigotry to have free rein in this country, we must anticipate friction, racial strife, and religious disharmony.
“Of course, we are being criticised, our colleague from RSF is here,” said Anwar, in reference to RSF Asia-Pacific bureau director Cedric Alviani.
Malaysia’s position in the World Press Freedom Index fell 34 places to 107th position compared to 73 last year, with a score of 52.07 points.
“I don’t mind. It does not matter if we are downgraded because we are tough against the racists and the religious bigots.
“Because in my mind, saving this country, protecting the rights of the majority and the minorities is more important than getting high marks or international recognition,” said Anwar to claps from the gathered guests comprising local top media editors and journalists, media NGOs, as well as a foreign delegation from across Asean.
Drawing the line on free press
Anwar said prior to taking office as prime minister, he had travelled the world as an opposition leader and received international accolades for his views on the need for a free press.
In his current position of power, he reaffirmed there will be no compromise of his stand on the importance of a free media.
“We must allow that space or else democracy will not mature. But where do we draw the line?” he said, stressing the importance of a media code of ethics that rises above external controlling factors including the government or media owners.
“I choose to be open and frank with you because this is precisely the challenge we face.
“I want to become the prime minister that upholds the principles of free media but we have to draw the line,” he said.
The prime minister further stressed that a line should be drawn over alleged attempts to incite racial hatred or sentiments against the royal institution, citing the example of the recent controversy surrounding media reports on a purported casino project in Forest City, Johor, indirectly linked to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
He said there is a need for actions to protect the royal institution and the king as a symbol of unity.
“You cannot drag him through this mud of politics.
“We have decided that while you are permitted to criticise or disagree with the prime minister or the government, you cannot incite racial hatred, go against the royal institution or fan the flames of religious fanaticism,” he said, adding that those unfamiliar with Malaysia may not understand such measures.
Separately, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil in his opening speech said the ministry is in the final stages of setting up an independent Malaysian Media Council (MMC), which has been in the works since 2018.
He said the government is in the process of preparing an impact analysis of the draft MMC bill, expected for tabling in Parliament in October - the last sitting for this year.
The three-day Hawana celebration gathered media
practitioners for a series of events under the theme “Ethics as
Foundation for Sustainable Journalism”. - Malaysiakini, 27/5/2024
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