THE Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index has ranked Malaysia as 107th compared to Israel at 101st.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil cannot understand why Israel with a horrible record on human rights and crackdown on media can be ranked lower than Malaysia in terms of the freedom of media index.
Apparently, Israel has shut down the services of Al-Jazeera network in the country although there is partial access.
Fahmi said Malaysia does not take seriously the RSF’s Freedom Index because it is not a gold standard of evaluation.
Anyway, he noted that the present Madani government fares better than the previous governments on press freedom.
Malaysia’s 107th ranking is considered second behind the ranking of Thailand. Malaysia is ahead of ASEAN countries like Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and others.
While Fahmi is not happy with the current ranking of Malaysia at 107th, he seems unable to explain why the country slipped to this particular rank. The country could not even keep up with the level of Thailand.
Missing press freedom
Even if the RSF’s World Press Freedom Index is not a gold standard, it nevertheless gives a rough estimation of the level of press freedom in the country.
The 107th ranking is certainly not a good indication given the government is committed in principle to protect and advance press freedom.
The existence of the plethora of laws makes it difficult for the government to ensure that these laws would not be used arbitrary to curb press freedom.
The government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim which came to power on the basis of far-reaching reforms has failed to address the issue of press freedom.
Alternatively, the curbs on the media seem to be justified on the need to check and regulate the veracity of information.
I really wonder whether the Madani government is really serious about bringing in the much-needed reforms, including the dismantling the curbs on media freedom.
The 107th ranking puts Malaysia in a difficult position. Yes, the RSF’s press freedom standard might not be a gold standard but such an index suggests that Malaysia has no press freedom but “pressed freedom”. – May 6, 2024
Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
