IT must have been exhilarating for Maria Ressa to have received the call from Olav Njølstad, secretary of the Nobel committee, about her Nobel peace prize shortly before the public announcement.

The prize is shared between Filipino Ressa and Dmitry Muratov from Russia, both of whom are journalists recognised by the committee for their effort and courage in fighting for freedom of expression in their respective countries.

Rappler, a digital news channel that Ressa co-founded, is known for exposing abuse of power, use of violence, and the growing authoritarianism of the President Rodrigo Duterte regime.

On the other hand, Muratov co-founded newspaper Novaja Gazeta, recognised by the committee as “the most independent” in Russia today.

It reports on issues such as corruption, police violence, electoral fraud etc.

Speaking out against crimes involving powerful people and a government’s involvement in corruption is a risky business.

Journalists like Ressa and Muratov are paying with their freedom, if not lives.

Ressa and her former colleague Reynaldo Santos were charged with and found guilty of cyber libel in June 2020. At the same time, seven cases against Rappler are still pending.

As for Novaja Gazeta, six of the newspaper’s journalists had been killed since its founding in 1993.

When the peace prize announcement came through earlier this month, it also shed light on the threats and the oppressive forces that journalists such as Ressa or Muratov have to constantly face.

We could only wish that this award and the media attention that comes with it would deter some of the coercive acts against them.

Sadly, not everyone shares the same fortune. Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks – which published a video showing American pilots killing 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007, including journalists and rescuers who arrived at the scene a few minutes later – is currently fighting his legal battle in London against extradition to the United States.

His seven years of protection by the Ecuadorian Embassy in the United Kingdom starting in 2012 was abruptly terminated in April 2019.

Assange’s political asylum was terminated, and has since been arrested by the British police for violating bail regulations and the US government’s pursuit of him for allegedly violating the US Espionage Act 1917.

Unfortunately, neither the news of Ressa and Muratov winning the peace awards nor the extradition hearings of Assange has attracted much interest or concern from our society.

In contrast, when online media Malaysiakini was ruled in contempt of court and slapped with a RM500,000 fine by the Federal Court on June 12, 2020 – for five reader comments that criticised the judicial system – public donations well in excess of the set fine poured in within in more or less a day, while the case also instantly attracted wide global media coverage.

Meanwhile, the public attention drew concerns from ambassadors from various countries to Malaysia.

Does our society show concern only for press freedom issues faced by our country, or that we are so ill-informed about the topic and issue that we are better off by staying out of it?

Did we choose to remain silent and obedient due to fear of retribution? Or that we are so divisive to the point that we simply do not share common ground on press freedom? Or do we simply feel, “what’s the point”?

Whichever the reason, a society that does not stand up for freedom of the press will eventually pay for it.

Without the media to expose government corruption, the unaware public cannot possibly respond to it, nor can it gather popular support for reforms.

Had the 1MDB scandal not been exposed by the media, no one would have reacted or be compelled to take action in any way.

As the late US Supreme Court justice Lewis F. Powell once wrote:

“No individual can obtain for himself the information needed for the intelligent discharge of his political responsibilities… by enabling the public to assert meaningful control over the political process, the press performs a crucial function in effecting the societal purpose of the first amendment.”

It is the free flow of the news around the world that has prompted the Malaysian government and those of many countries to enforce their laws, including seizing suspicious funds and bank accounts, closing the Swiss bank account involved in the case in Singapore, issuing an arrest warrant against Low Taek Jho, and putting former prime minister Najib Razak on trial.

The free flow of information eventually led to the downfall of the Barisan Nasional regime in 2018, delivering our very first change of government since independence.

Freedom of the press creates a borderless community across the world within which everyone shares the same information.

Therefore, the news of Ressa, Muratov, or Assange should not be a matter of interest only to people from other countries.

The oppression they face should remind us of the importance of press freedom. Their fight and resilience should remind us about the importance of standing up for freedom by everyone and anyone.

Without this freedom, the media will become a propaganda machine for the government or those in power that manufacture consent.

Without this freedom, we will not be able to exercise our political rights and participate effectively in our political life.

So, congratulations to Ressa and Muratov. Thank you, Assange too, for the corruption and crimes that you have exposed. – December 6, 2021.

* Chan Yit Fei is a founding member of Agora Society. He is a cellist and educator by profession, and a biotechnologist by training. He writes to learn and to think, and most importantly, to force himself to finish reading books that would otherwise not see much of the light of day.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.