Malaysia Press Freedom: The Battle Is Not Yet Over
Malaysia's press is still under the spell of serious control and the battle to free the local press and the air waves altogether is not over yet despite the promises by the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for a less stringent 'permit' system.
The PM said in general that Malaysia will follow the standards in place in the Western world indicating the annual permit for the printing and publishing of newspapers and periodicals will become a one time affair. However, in the West, there is no real 'permit' for the publication of a news organ while the government control of the 'content' published in newspapers in the West is virtually nil. Which is not the case in Malaysia where the content in the local press is not totally liberated in the sense that the opposition for example does not get a free wheeler in the mainstream papers while the government figures are featured at will.
The PM did not altogether mention that the press and the media's as well as the TV and Radio stations will be liberalized in the same breath. This entails that the government would not want to see a sudden flourish of pro-opposition papers in the country at a time when the nation is going to polls any time soon.
On the other hand, the need to apply for a permit at the Home Ministry in Putrajaya is indicative of the authorities unwillingness to allow total freedom of the press in Malaysia, which entails that the struggle to achieve such a freedom still has a long way to go.
One wonders whether the opposition itself is really pressing hard on the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister to commit to a larger press freedom? We know the position of the opposition on the freedom of the press but at times it appears that this commitment by the opponents to the government has no real interest in getting the entire press freed in Malaysia.
The opposition itself have to show their utter faith in the freedom of the press and push the government further into opening up the space and allow the press to be freed from interference.
This will be one of the tools that will allow Malaysia to grow further.
Malaysia's press is still under the spell of serious control and the battle to free the local press and the air waves altogether is not over yet despite the promises by the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for a less stringent 'permit' system.
The PM said in general that Malaysia will follow the standards in place in the Western world indicating the annual permit for the printing and publishing of newspapers and periodicals will become a one time affair. However, in the West, there is no real 'permit' for the publication of a news organ while the government control of the 'content' published in newspapers in the West is virtually nil. Which is not the case in Malaysia where the content in the local press is not totally liberated in the sense that the opposition for example does not get a free wheeler in the mainstream papers while the government figures are featured at will.
The PM did not altogether mention that the press and the media's as well as the TV and Radio stations will be liberalized in the same breath. This entails that the government would not want to see a sudden flourish of pro-opposition papers in the country at a time when the nation is going to polls any time soon.
On the other hand, the need to apply for a permit at the Home Ministry in Putrajaya is indicative of the authorities unwillingness to allow total freedom of the press in Malaysia, which entails that the struggle to achieve such a freedom still has a long way to go.
One wonders whether the opposition itself is really pressing hard on the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister to commit to a larger press freedom? We know the position of the opposition on the freedom of the press but at times it appears that this commitment by the opponents to the government has no real interest in getting the entire press freed in Malaysia.
The opposition itself have to show their utter faith in the freedom of the press and push the government further into opening up the space and allow the press to be freed from interference.
This will be one of the tools that will allow Malaysia to grow further.
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