On the evening of May 9, 2018, almost all Malaysians were glued to either their television sets or personal computers as the results of GE14 trickled in.
As it became obvious to the then ruling party – BN or especially Umno - that it would no longer form the next government, the feed from the Election Commission abruptly stopped.
Malaysiakini’s election results website too was blocked – the first “real” indication that BN had lost and there were desperate scrambles behind the scenes for some face-saving deals.
Who was the prime minister then?
In March 2015, police arrested The Edge publisher Ho Kay Tat and (now defunct) The Malaysian Insider chief executive Jahabar Sadiq under the Sedition Act over the news portal’s report on Islamic criminal laws or hudud.
Three senior editors - Lionel Morais, Amin Shah Iskandar and Zulkifli Sulong - were also arrested.
Who was the prime minister then?
On July 24, July 24, 2015, the Home Ministry suspended the publishing permit of The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily for three months.
The letter from the ministry says that the two publications’ reporting of 1MDB was “prejudicial or likely to be prejudicial to public order, security or likely to alarm public opinion or is likely to be prejudicial to the public and national interest”.
Who was the prime minister then?
On March 12, 2014, reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) weekly news programme, “Four Corners”, were arrested for “obstructing a public servant in discharge of a public function.”
They had merely wanted to interview the prime minister regarding a corruption scandal.
Who was the prime minister then?
Three senior editors paraded themselves in front of television cameras to supposedly exonerate the key figures involved in the 1MDB scandal in December 2015.
It was during this interview that Najib Abdul Razak claimed that the donation of RM2.6 billion deposited into his account was neither from a public fund nor 1MDB.
“I have not committed any offence or malpractice; this has been explained at the Parliament by the deputy prime minister (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi).”
Who was the prime minister then?
It was Najib and his serious transgressions were not limited to these handful. With his pliant deputy Zahid who doubled up as home minister, “freedom” existed only in name.
Wielding power over newspaper owners and editors, it was their view any news detrimental to them and the party should not be published.
Zahid even went to the extent of threatening to close newspapers if they reported his speech calling the Tiga Line underworld group his friends and urging them to do what they needed to do.
Press freedom ‘not absolute’
Why then is Bersatu supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan waxing lyrical stating that the convicted felon, Najib was better than Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim when it came to press freedom?
The Tasek Gelugor MP said both Najib and Anwar viewed press freedom as “not absolute” but at least Najib spoke with substance.
This is not his first foray in this area. In March, Wan Saiful remarked that the nation is witnessing a “slow murder” of media freedom-related reforms under the leadership of Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
This was over Fahmi’s assertion that the press accreditation card is not a licence to practise journalism.
I too agree that press freedom is not absolute. It comes with responsibilities and a commitment to tell the truth.
The spirit of reform chanted before the election, Wan Saiful said, was just a lie to usurp the throne. Once in power, the media is gripped with draconian measures and iron fists, he said.
Like many other media practitioners, I too am disappointed with the unkept promises and back-tracking, not only on press freedom but other areas that need reform.
While accepting and agreeing that media freedom is in a critical and severe state, it will be difficult to accept the “draconian measures” and “iron fists” bit.
NPC not the solution
The Madani government has its flaws but it certainly does not make Najib a poster boy for press freedom.
In August last year, attempts to access UtusanTV resulted in redirection to a generic government notice claiming a violation of law without specifying the nature of the violation.
Two months earlier, MalaysiaNow was partially blocked as some Celcom and Maxis users reported they could not access the website.
The general election is three years away and this is certainly not the time to argue who is better.
We are facing a major issue - the drop of 37 places in the World Press Freedom Index. Instead of addressing the issue, Anwar wrongly attributes it to the 3R issues.
Fahmi claimed the “index was not the gold standard”, which was immediately rebutted by RSF Asia-Pacific bureau director Cedric Alviani.
Every time this issue is brought up, and when they run out of answers, there is a convenient scapegoat - the much-touted National Press Council (NPC) - that will be the answer to all our woes.
The NPC will not and cannot regulate anything but be just another letter box to receive complaints from unhappy consumers.
But this will not stop the blocking of sites and harassment of journalists. Something more must be done. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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