Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has given his assurance that the coalition government will not treat the media with an iron fist, as has happened in previous administrations.
Fahmi asserted that the government still stands by its stance to defend media freedom but will not compromise with slanderous and fake reports.
While acknowledging that several online news publications have been blocked by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) recently, he stressed that the situation under the coalition government is much better than previous administrations.
“During my tenure as the communications and digital minister so far, not a single journalist has been detained by the police, not one newspaper has been shut down like what had happened before.
“I accept the statements and views presented (regarding restrictions on news portals). I hope that some improvements can be made so that we can assure and defend media rights in continuing to report freely but there are some elements such as defamation or incorrect information (that was reported).
“I hope my media friends can discuss this to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. It is as important to be first as to be right in reporting any news,” he told reporters after officiating the ‘Kita Madani Aspirasi Malaysia 2023’ programme for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya at Pantai Eco Park Community Centre in the capital city today.
Fahmi, who is the government spokesperson, said this when asked to comment on calls from international NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for him to end a wave of censorship targeting online news websites.
This came in the wake of several online news websites being blocked by the MCMC.
Since June, the affected websites are MalaysiaNow, UtusanTV, and TV Pertiwi.
This is despite a previous pledge by Fahmi that news websites will not be blocked pending investigations.
The MCMC has declined to comment on its actions, only that it is acting in accordance with the law and cannot comment on specific cases until its investigations have concluded.
Asked about his views on MCMC’s action in imposing a ban without any notice, Fahmi revealed that he had given his views to ensure that actions taken by the regulatory body do not cause misunderstanding.
“Because for the prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) and this administration, media freedom needs to be defended and we will continue to defend it as the prime minister said during the celebration of the National Journalists Day and the MPI-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards 2022.
“He (Anwar) stands by that stance and I also stand by it.” - Mkini
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