TASEK Gelugor MP and former information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan has taken a jibe at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil for limiting the role of government media agencies to spreading the propaganda of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN).
He further expressed concerns that voices in favour of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) facilitating special withdrawals for members to tap their own savings for their personal use have been deliberately silenced.
“I received information from a community activist who is so persistently fighting for the targeted EPF withdrawal and against the ‘ugly’ PH-BN agenda to make the EPF scheme a deficit fund,” he revealed when debating on the Budget 2023 allocation for the Communications and Digital Ministry.
“It seems that some media agencies are refusing to publish the activist’s comments under the pretext that they are part of the “government media”.
Touching on the role of Bernama, RTM and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), he suggested that the unity government study the concepts and philosophy used by other local news agencies as well as highly credible international news organisations to ensure that freedom of speech is not curtailed at will.
“They function as independent and impartial news agencies despite receiving government sanctions,” observed Wan Saiful. “I mention this because I am concerned with the PH-BN government’s tendency to suppress freedom of speech.”
As it is, Wan Saiful claimed that the PH-BN government has become more and more autocratic given that “they are using all forms of legislative channels to restrict and intimidate not only the citizens but also MPs with legal action”.
“If the agencies under the Communications and Digital Ministry are also used to shut the mouths of the people, I am worried that the freedom of speech will be lost and our ambition to form an informed society will fail,” he added. – March 23, 2023
