Banned publications: journalists bemoan the lack of press freedom

Virtually all the mainstream print and electronic media are now in the hands of ruling coalition parties or firms closely connected to them.

Of late, attention has focussed on the Internet, the last bastion of press freedom in Malaysia. Before the Malaysiakini raid, in December 2002, police detained 10 Malaysians under the Internal Security Act for allegedly spreading terror rumours on the web – but it was also a chilling reminder that Internet e-mail users could be traced and surfers could take little comfort in anonymity.

Even before the ISA arrests, many surfers were reluctant to participate freely and air critical views in e-mail discussion groups and e-mailing lists for fear of being traced. The ISA arrests in December may have served a dual purpose – it confirmed the fears among e-mail users that their anonymity on the Internet was an illusion.

In the last few years, the authorities have systematically cracked down on the media in thinly veiled attempts at shoring up ebbing support.

A brief flashback: the November 1999 general election saw a sharp erosion in support for the ruling coalition among ethnic Malay voters. Many analysts pointed to the Anwar saga and the reformasi phenomenon as the principal causes.

As reformasi erupted in September 1998, independent-minded scribes turned to the Internet as an alternative medium of expression. Critical, alternative Malay-language print media also flourished and played a key role in disseminating news about reformasi and keeping the momentum going for as long as possible.

A crackdown on the media followed in 2000, targeted primarily at the Malay-language press. The authorities revoked the permit of a couple of critical Malay magazines, slashed the permitted frequency of opposition Islamic party PAS’ newspaper Harakah, and came down hard on the distribution of popular Malay-language pro-opposition tabloids after the 1999 general election.

A silver lining: several press freedom groups emerged following the crackdown – Kumpulan Aktivis Media Independen (KAMI), a grouping of journalists from critical Malay publications, Charter 2000-Aliran, a Malaysian citizens’ media initiative, and Media Agenda Malaysia.

Fast forward to the Lunas by-election in November 2000: in the run-up to the by-election, it was the relatively independent Chinese dailies that provided a range of views on controversial subjects such as factional struggles within the MCA, the character and future of Chinese vernacular schools and ethnic-based quotas for university admission.

These issues touched a chord among many Chinese Malay-sians. Opposition parties such as Keadilan were quick in tapping into this reservoir of discontent. In addition, factional feuds had created a major rift within the Malaysian Chinese Association, the second largest party in the ruling coalition.

The result: a swing in support among Chinese voters towards the opposition as the opposition candidate from Keadilan snatched Lunas, a safe ruling coalition seat in the Prime Minister’s home state of Kedah, away from the Barisan Nasional.

By mid-2001, no doubt after a post mortem of the Lunas defeat, two of the Chinese newspapers were controversially taken over by the investment arm of the MCA, severely narrowing the space for freedom of expression in the print media.

Another silver lining: more press freedom groups sprouted among them the Committee Against Takeover (CAT) of the Nanyang Press and the Writers Actions for Media Independence.

The other main avenue of articulating dissent since Sept 1998 has been through street demonstrations and ceramah (political forums). But street demonstrations were often crushed using heavy-handed police tactics; dozens were beaten and/or arrested.

Popular ceramah speakers and crowd mobilisers like Saari Sungib, Tian Chua, Ezam Md Noor and Lokman Adam were all detained without trial under the ISA in 2001.

Since then, ceramahs have been banned.

And of course, there was the “spring cleaning” at the English-language Sun tabloid, which had displayed some semblance of independent thinking.

Following a 25 Dec 2001 report about an assassination plot on the prime minister and his deputy, a wave of suspensions, sackings and lay-offs took place. The Sun had a massive make-over and is today a pale shadow of its former self, which wasn’t that critical to begin with. - A. Netto

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