Media practised self-censorship when I was PM, says Dr Mahathir

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysian media tended to practise self-censorship despite enjoying press freedom during his premiership. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, August 1, 2015.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysian media tended to practise self-censorship despite enjoying press freedom during his premiership.

"When I was the prime minister, there was press freedom but it is the media itself who did self-censorship, as if they didn't want to hurt leaders' feelings. This is the habit that we have in Malaysia," he said at  a book launch in Putrajaya today.

He also said local mainstream media were too cautious.

"They think what if leaders don't like what they write,"he said.

He added, however, that media like Harakah and The Rocket sometimes went overboard in criticising the government.

In 1987, under the premiership of Dr Mahathir, publishing permits for The Star, Sin Chew Jit Poh, The Sunday Star and Watan were revoked, days after the government embarked on Ops Lalang, a crackdown that saw more than 100 political leaders and activists were arrested.

Last week, The Home Ministry suspended the publishing permits of The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily for three months from July 27 over its reporting on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

A letter from the ministry stated that the two publications' reporting of 1MDB were "prejudicial or likely to be prejudicial to public order, security or likely to alarm public opinion or is likely to be prejudicial to public and national interest".

"Media should have the freedom but recently we were told that we can't talk about 1MDB, because it is an act of sedition to topple the government," Mahathir said.

"As a Malaysian citizen, I will follow (the directive) that any discussion of 1MDB is a crime and I don't like to commit a crime."

Mahathir yesterday told media that he would no longer speak about 1MDB as it was now considered as a crime.

Today he said he was not sure whether he would continue writing about 1MDB in his blog as he might be invited by the police for raising questions about it.

"Writing and talking is the same. I don't know, I have to think about it because it is very serious."

"I might be invited by the police to be questioned. I don't think they will put me in jail yet but there is a possibility that you will be asked, why did you say this," he said adding that even The Wall Street Journal was asked why they published certain reports.

Mahathir has openly called for the prime minister to resign over the 1MDB scandal and a myriad of other issues.

However, Najib has refused to do so and has launched an open attack against Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister, with his loyalists in Umno defending him against Mahathir's criticisms.

- TMI