Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was better than Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when it comes to press freedom, according to Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan.
The Tasek Gelugor MP said both Najib and Anwar viewed press freedom as “not absolute”, but at least Najib spoke with substance.
“On April 11, 2018, before the BN government fell, Najib once said freedom of speech and press in our country was not absolute.
"Now, Anwar is repeating what Najib said. However, Najib is better because, in 2018, he said press freedom needed to be based on three things, namely responsibility, publishing based on truth, and following the interpretation of local image and culture.
“Anwar, meanwhile, said he didn't care without outlining any meaningful content,” Wan Saiful (above) said in a statement on Facebook.
Yesterday, in his speech during the National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2024 summit in Kuching, Sarawak, Anwar defended the government’s “tough action” against inflammatory speeches, which indirectly contributed to Malaysia’s downgrade in the annual Reporters Without Borders annual World Press Freedom Index.
“If we allow racism to flourish, fascism or religious bigotry to have free rein in this country, we must anticipate friction, racial strife, and religious disharmony.
“Of course, we are being criticised, our colleague from RSF is here,” said Anwar, referring to RSF Asia-Pacific bureau director Cedric Alviani’s attendance at the event.
Anwar said he did not mind Malaysia’s fall in the index by 34 places to 107th position because it was more important to be tough against racists and religious bigots.
He added that while he has not compromised his stand on a free media’s role in a democracy, a line must be drawn on alleged attempts to incite racial hatred or sentiments against the royal institution.
‘Diversion tactic’
Meanwhile, Wan Saiful said Anwar’s reference to 3R (race, religion, and royalty) issues was a distraction from his failure to manage the country's economy and socio-politics.
"This 3R issue is Anwar's ‘diversion tactic’,” he said.
Media freedom in Malaysia is in a critical and severe state, he said, adding that this was due to Pakatan Harapan’s false promises of freedom for the press.
"The spirit of reform chanted before was just a lie to usurp the throne.
"Once in power, the media is gripped with draconian measures and iron fists.
“Everyone was cheated,” said Wan Saiful.
Earlier today, Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek also called out Anwar over the same issue.
He insisted that Anwar had failed to address the real basis of RSF’s criticisms, instead falling back on the often-repeated 3R excuse.
He urged the government to take Malaysia’s downgrade in the World Press Freedom Index seriously and to accept that it is caused by the increasing action in blocking or censoring critical press.
Blocking issue
For the first time in three years, Malaysia did not top the rankings for Asean countries. Thailand had attained 87th place.
“The threat of defamation proceedings keeps journalists on a short leash in Mongolia (109th), while news sites critical of the government are often blocked in Malaysia (107th),” the report accompanying the index noted.
Last year in August, attempts to access UtusanTV resulted in redirection to a generic government notice claiming a violation of law without specifying the nature of the violation.
Before that in June, MalaysiaNow was partially blocked, as some Celcom and Maxis users reported that they couldn’t access the website.
DNS tampering is a common method used in Malaysia to censor “undesirable” online content including pornography, online gambling, and violent extremist sites.
This has also been used to block legitimate news sites in the past, including Malaysiakini’s election results site during the 14th general election in 2018. - Mkini
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