Throttling the public’s right to know

All Najib has to do is to come clean about the RM2.6 billion, instead of trampling on media freedom

COMMENT

By Charles Santiago

One of the unsung freedoms that go with a free press is the freedom not to read it, said Ferdinand Mount.

In Malaysia, a financial paper The Edge has been suspended because the news reports about corruption sent shivers down their spine.

It pieced together evidence from financial transactions between 1Malaysia Development Berhad and PetroSaudi International to expose a scam to rob RM 6.9 billion from Malaysia.

Ho Kay Tat, publisher and group CEO of The Edge, has said they pursued the story in the interest of the nation and that they had a duty to do so. He also said there were no political aspirations or conspiracy and neither did they pay for information or steal them.

What The Edge did is brave investigative journalism. What the Home Ministry did only goes to show the government and especially Prime Minister Najib Razak has something to hide.

Instead of trampling on media freedom and slapping The Edge with a suspension order, all Najib has to do is come clean as to what transpired at 1MDB, why 2.6 billion ringgit was in his bank account and how it was spent.

People say that media freedom and democracy are joined at the hip and these two are useful tools in fighting political corruption.

In Malaysia, we currently have an alarming rise in the criminalisation of expression because a team of reporters have been persistent in uncovering the truth behind the 1MDB financial heist by a group of greedy powerful people.

Free pluralist media are essential for democracy and checks on power. Freedom of speech and freedom after speech are at the core of open and free societies.

Everyone has the right to receive information, even if it’s detrimental to the survival of corrupt politicians. And only a free, independent press can guarantee that right.

The Edge was suspended because its reports were said to be “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”.

Clearly this suspension has robbed Malaysians of their right to receive truthful information and to express and disseminate opinion about a financial scandal which has a direct bearing on the stability of the country.

When Najib assumed power he promised a slew of reforms. He also pledged to open the democratic space in the country. Seven years later all we have are a canvass of contradictions.

In reality, he constricted freedom of assembly, expression and now of the press because his political career is in limbo.

Christopher Dodd said when the public’s right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press are at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered.

This is a reality for Malaysia now, thanks to Najib and his cronies.

Charles Santiago is MP for Klang