Commentary by Mustafa K. Anuar

IN conjunction with World Press Freedom Day on April 3, former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a Facebook post called for a review of Malaysia’s media-related laws. 

He seems to be concerned about such laws as the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and several sections of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 that have a negative impact on media freedom.

The media must not be muzzled and should be allowed to report independently, he said.

But, if Ismail was indeed serious about media reform, he wouldn’t be still talking about the need to review and repeal such prohibitive laws had he done so when he was at the helm of the federal government. At the very least, he should have initiated some effort to start the ball rolling. 

Instead, certain developments in the media industry had contributed to further deterioration of media freedom under his watch.

International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) observed that Ismail’s tenure had no significant or positive impact on the working environment for media professionals.

It was instead marked by, for instance, editors and reporters being subjected to spurious legal challenges by government personalities.

Malaysia’s National Union of Journalists was concerned about, for example, the sudden removal of the New Straits Times’ group editor Ahmad Lokman Mansor, especially with reports suggesting that the move was due to political interference. There was apparent acquiescence on Ismail’s part.

In his Facebook jotting, Ismail urged the press to be the “eyes and ears” of the government so as to detect wrongdoers in the government. This strategy may not be advisable, as the media ought to be independent of the government.

To be clear, there should instead be a critical engagement between the media and the government so that the media are always vigilant and free to practise investigative journalism. Too cosy a relationship may give rise to domesticated media. 

It is, hence, important that the media play a vital role in the interests of the general public, keeping a curious and keen eye on the government and the private sector as well as certain quarters in the wider society for misdeeds such as corruption, abuse of power, and other kinds of misdemeanour that are inimical to national interests. 

We cannot overemphasise the importance of media freedom in a democracy. That is why there is cause for excitement when Malaysia was ranked 73 in the RSF 2023 World Press Freedom Rankings, up from the 113 attained last year.

Malaysia was also ranked the highest among Asean countries out of the 180 nations in the index.

Like Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysians indeed have every reason to be proud of this achievement after so many years of Malaysia trailing behind many other countries.  

But we obviously cannot afford to rest on our laurels because Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders made promises in the last general election that are still left unfulfilled.

In other words, the media reform was promised before PH politicians came into power.

If our collective memory serves us correctly, PH pledged to protect freedom of expression by committing to review and repeal the Sedition Act 1948, Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, and Printing Press and Publications Act 1984.

The coalition also vowed to introduce a Freedom of Information Act and to amend the Official Secrets Act, which will help bring about greater transparency in governance and enable the media to perform more effectively. 

It is hoped media reforms would not forever remain a bucket list of people who have vacated positions of power. – May 5, 2023.