EDITORIAL : THE NEW STRAITS TIMES, MALAYSIA

Respect the press

WHEN it comes to freedom of the press, it has long been the contention of the opposition that the local media is not free. They delight in pointing out that the government muzzles the media through laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act and doctors the news through the ruling coalition's ownership and control of the mainstream media. On the other hand, they portray themselves as the defenders of freedom of speech. One would have expected, then, that once they came to power, they would carry out their pledge to respect and promote press freedom. But as this high vision of freedom was seen through rosy spectacles that were not clouded by the everyday running of government, this was always going to be a mistaken supposition. While they would inevitably cry foul when publications favourable to them are chastised, charged or closed down, it would have been safer to assume that they would sing a different tune when they take office. And so it has proved.

In November 2008, displeased with what he considered the constant reporting of untruths and the twisting of a statement by the deputy chief minister II by Utusan Malaysia, a government backbencher proposed that the Malay daily be blocked from covering future proceedings of the Penang state assembly. Though the proposal was rejected by the deputy speaker then, on the grounds that the state government practised media freedom, this incident, nevertheless, signalled that it was closely monitoring what was being published in the newspapers. Indeed, contrary to the deputy speaker's assurance that the state government respected freedom of the press, the chief minister went on to forbid reporters from the New Straits Times from attending official functions and events in March 2009.

The fact that the ban on this newspaper has not been lifted, and that it was the chief minister who moved the motion to bar Utusan Malaysia from the next sitting of the state legislature and demanded the sacking of the editors and journalists responsible for the front-page report alleging a Christian plot to usurp Islam, suggest that he does not take kindly to awkward questions about his administration. Penang, of course, is not the only self-styled Pakatan Rakyat state government that is barely tolerant of a press critical of its performance. All the more reason for them to learn not to overreact to unfavourable reports that expose potentially embarrassing violations, abuses and misappropriations. That is, if they are truly serious about allowing the press to play its role as the Fourth Estate in a free and responsible manner.