PENANG,
Malaysia - Senior editors of Malaysia's controlled
mainstream media raised eyebrows last week when they
publicly urged the government to reform the country's
stringent press laws. In the past, criticism had come
mostly from reporters and activists, but with the advent
of new technology, editors have begun pointing out that
the oppressive laws should be repealed or they will soon
become obsolete.
After years of remaining mum on
the issue, the editors also may have chosen this time to
speak out after sensing a slight change in the country's
political climate. In addition to calls for change in
Malaysia, the administration of Prime Minister Abdullah
Badawi has adopted a more tolerant approach to some
forms of dissent, such as rallies to repeal restrictions
on press freedom in the country.
The unexpected
call for press-law reform came at a press-freedom forum
called "Testing the Limits" organized by the
conservative National Union of Journalists, which is
dominated by journalists from the pro-establishment
media.
The call was led by Wong Chun Wai, deputy
group editor of The Star, the country's top-selling
English-language newspaper. He urged the government to
repeal the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA),
which critics say deters press freedom by making it
mandatory for both publishers and printers to apply for
a new license each year. Wong said that if the PPPA is
not repealed, it will become obsolete one day.
Zainon Ahmad, the group chief editor of
Malaysia's second-largest English-language daily, The
Sun, proposed that the licensing requirement be
scrapped. Alternatively, he suggested that it could be
replaced by a one-off license - with no renewals needed
- that could be revoked if any rules were flouted.
Analysts, meanwhile, wondered about the timing
of the senior editors' remarks. Criticism of the PPPA is
of course nothing new, but in the past it was the
journalists and activists who were in the forefront in
the campaign to repeal the law.
Calls for
press freedom are nothing new On May 3, 1999,
Abdullah Badawi, the then-minister of home affairs, was
presented with a memorandum calling for the repeal of
the PPPA. Remarkably, the memorandum was signed by 581
mainstream media reporters and editors. Then in April
2000, Abdullah was presented with the signatures of
another 370 journalists who had endorsed the memorandum.
In the memorandum, the journalists suggested
self-regulation through an independent media council, as
an alternative to the licensing provision under the
PPPA. They felt that the licensing provisions had led to
self-censorship in editorial rooms.
These
signatures were collected during the height of the
reformasi fervor and during a time when
then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was named by the
New York-based Committee to Protect Journalist as among
the top 10 enemies of the press for three straight
years.
Last year, the Paris-based Reporters Sans
Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) ranked Malaysia a
lowly 104th in its annual press-freedom rankings.
Not much has changed over the years - except
that Abdullah Badawi is now the prime minister, and
senior editors are now speaking out.
The major
English-language dailies appear to be doing fairly well
from a commercial point of view. The Star - which is
owned by the Malaysian Chinese Association, the
second-largest party in the National Front (Barisan
Nasional or BN) ruling coalition - sells just over
300,000 copies daily. Its closest English-language
rivals are The Sun (142,000) and the New Straits Times
(135,000), based on June 2003 audited circulation
figures.
That makes the calls for greater press
freedom all the more surprising. But as Wong pointed
out, the PPPA should be repealed or it will become
obsolete with the improvement of new technology:
cell-phone short messaging services (SMS) and the
Internet.
Obviously, the mainstream editors are
taking a longer-term view with one eye cast warily on
new kids on the block such as the popular independent
online news portal, Malaysiakini. In a sense, websites
such as Malaysiakini have undermined the credibility of
the mainstream media by consistently carrying news
stories that the mainstream media would not touch with a
barge pole.
Press laws give rise to a culture
of fear But analysts say the PPPA is only one
aspect of Malaysia's broad-ranging and restrictive press
laws. They point out that control over the media is
exercised in several ways in Malaysia, where a culture
of fear allows self-censorship to prevail. This fear is
not without basis: it is fueled by the existence of an
arsenal of oppressive laws, of which the PPPA is one.
Others include the draconian Internal Security Act
(ISA), the Sedition Act and the Official Secrets Act.
Critics argue that all these laws - and not just the
PPPA - have to be repealed if the overall climate for
press freedom is to be substantially improved.
In addition, control is also exerted over the
ownership of the mainstream media, which at present
appears to be confined to ruling political parties and
those closely associated or friendly with them.
These restrictions have been in operation for
years, but the editors have only chosen now to speak out
because, quite apart from their concern over potential
competition, they may have sensed that the new
administration would be more accepting of their calls
for reform.
There was no response from Abdullah
to the call - in contrast to the past, when Mahathir
could have been expected to make a quick retort.
Instead, a former deputy premier, Musa Hitam, hopped on
the bandwagon. He said it was time for a "fresh look" at
restrictions on press freedom in the country.
In
recent weeks, the Abdullah administration has adopted a
more tolerant approach to some forms of dissent - though
the harsh laws remain in place. Gone are the stinging
rebukes of dissenting views that characterized the
previous administration. When on May Day more than a
thousand workers and activists rallied in the heart of
Penang to demand improved conditions for workers, they
were met by only a discreet police presence, and no riot
police were in sight. Public assemblies such as this are
considered illegal unless a police permit is granted,
and in previous years similar rallies were met with a
strong police presence and even arrests.
The
Royal Commission to review the operations of the police
is now on a roadshow around the country, stopping at
major cities to listen to public views on the police.
Though complaints of apparent police high-handedness
still crop up, the police appear to be taking a more
low-key approach to dealing with dissenting voices.
Nonetheless, some 90-odd people remain detained without
trial under the ISA, most of them alleged to be
suspected militants.
Last Wednesday, a scheduled
demolition of ex-plantation workers' homes in Ladang
Bukit Jelutong near Kuala Lumpur was unexpectedly called
off pending a court hearing. In the past, demolitions of
this nature have led to angry confrontations between
residents and activists on the one hand, and landowners,
local authorities and police on the other.
All
these developments may have contributed to a perception
that the Abdullah administration is more confident of
its position after a stronger-than-expected showing in
the March general election, which was however marred by
irregularities. It may have contributed to a perception
that the time is ripe to "test the limits" (thus the
title of the press freedom forum). That stronger
position could encourage the government to ease up on
tight restrictions or preserve the status quo. Musa
himself said that Malaysians, especially the middle
class, are now more educated and exposed to current
affairs and foreign developments and would not get so
emotional over racial issues, unlike in the past.
The real test in the near term will be how the
new administration handles the plight of jailed
ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar's lawyers have
been asking for him to be allowed to undergo endoscopic
spinal surgery in Germany instead of having what they
feel is a riskier procedure locally. So far, he has been
refused bail after more than a year into his second jail
term. Anwar's case came before the Federal Court on
Friday: Anwar is appealing against his sodomy conviction
and his current nine-year sentence - he had earlier
completed a six-year jail term - and will also be
applying for bail. This is the final avenue for him -
short of a royal pardon - in his prolonged battle for
freedom that began with his arrest on September 20,
1998.
In the meantime, some observers say the
mainstream media should not wait for the administration
to hand them greater press freedom on a silver platter
but should start testing the limits straight away
instead.
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