MALAYSIA dropped 34 spots to place 107th in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2024’s World Press Freedom rankings. It was at 73rd spot last year.

This is the first time in three years Malaysia did not top the list for Southeast Asia. Thailand took the honour at 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),” said the report accompanying the index.

In the past 12 months, access to news sites such as UtusanTV and MalaysiaNow was partially blocked.

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.

Malaysia attained an average 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 put Malaysia in the company of Maldives (106) and Burundi (108).

Other Asean countries ranked as follows: Indonesia (111), Brunei (117), Singapore (126), Philippines (134), Cambodia (151), Laos (153), Myanmar (171), and Vietnam (174).

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. – May 3, 2024.