CIJ condemns arrest of ex-FMT jouro as “hostile environment for journalists”

 

THE Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) condemns the arrest of former Free Malaysia Today (FMT) journalist Rex Tan under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act, Section 505(c) of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act today (Jan 17).

This arrest was made following a recent line of questioning posed by the journalist at a public lecture entitled Gaza Exposes the Complicity of International Actors on Jan 12 in Kuala Lumpur.

As a result of his line of questioning, the journalist faced harassment, intimidation and doxxing online by having had his personal details shared publicly.

As such, we find this arrest highly concerning, proving to be both an excessive and hostile action towards the journalist, especially after an internal inquiry was conducted by FMT and the journalist’s own apology and subsequent resignation in light of his actions.

Dangerous precedent

In light of these remedies to the journalist’s actions, taking action to arrest the journalist clearly failed to follow international standards of the three-part test of proportionality, necessity and legitimacy.

This is further compounded by the already significant backlash faced by the journalist after his line of questioning went viral online.

This sets a dangerous precedent for journalists as the authorities not only fail to protect their safety and privacy but it establishes an even more chilling environment by reprimanding and threatening the safety of the journalists themselves with laws that utilise vague language and archaic notions.

Despite promises for reforms, including one to improve media freedom by the Prime Minister, we see this hostile legal and cultural environment for the media persisting, discouraging young journalists from asking questions of a sensitive nature and preventing critical discourse in fear of both public backlash and legal repercussions.

The persistence of this environment allows editorial censorship to prevail over public interest news.

Release journo immediately

Moreover, the decision and arrest by the authorities undermines the mandate and spirit of the Malaysian Media Council (MMC), a multi-stakeholder institution meant to represent the public interest and serve as the interface between the public and media, uphold ethical reporting standards and to address grievances.

Given the MMC has also offered its services to facilitate conciliation in good faith, we must question why the authorities have not allowed the body to reconcile this matter as is their role.

Its position and the abilities it has been equipped with would allow them to deal with this matter in line with international standards while meeting the public interest.

Therefore, we must urge the police to release the ex-FMT journalist with no further delay and instead to focus on investigating the issue of the violation of his privacy, harassment and intimidation.

Any further redress needed from the journalist should be overseen by the MMC following international standards of proportionality, necessity and legitimacy.

This must be a call for reforms to happen urgently – both culturally and legally – to create a safe environment for journalists and a Malaysia that is able to engage in critical discourse without fear.  

Wathshlah G. Naidu is the executive director of Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ).

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.