Clampdown on Media Freedom The authorities may have raided Malaysiakini, but they cannot stifle aspirations for greater participatory democracy by Anil Netto
The uproar over the police raid on Malaysiakini may have subsided but the aftershock continues to be felt. Now may be an opportune time to reflect on the importance of media freedom in building participatory democracy and a vibrant civil society.
In recent months, Aliran Monthly has carried articles analysing the scope for a broader definition of politics to include citizens’ politics. But without freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the freedom to report dissent in the media, hopes of creating a broader political culture are likely to be frustrated.
The Raid
But first a brief recap of the raid on Malaysiakini on 20 January. Acting on a complaint by the youth wing of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), about a dozen police personnel swooped down on the office of award-winning independent news portal malaysia-kini.com in Bangsar.
They seized 15 computer central processing units (CPUs) and four servers in a raid that paralysed the site and left media freedom on the Internet reeling. Ten hours later, after a candlelight vigil attended by some 200 supporters, the web portal was back online, running on makeshift resources. But as at the time of writing, the four servers had still not yet been returned.
UMNO Youth had lodged a report complaining about an allegedly “seditious” letter posted on the website on 9 January. It complained that the letter had questioned Malay “special privileges” and contained “false allegations” about the government’s treatment of other ethnic groups and the indigenous Orang Asli. They also alleged that the letter had likened UMNO Youth with the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacist group.
In the aftermath of the raid, some wondered if the action on Malaysiakini was a prelude to the next general election campaign. Indeed, on the eve of the raid, UMNO Youth chief Hisham-muddin Hussein was reported as saying that election preparations and efforts to intensify its focus on winning the elections would be discussed at its party meeting the next day. “There is no question that we are already in the election mode,” he had said.
The action against Malaysiakini will have far-reaching repercussions for Malaysia’s attempt to propel itself into the information age.
When he made his global launch of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1997, Mahathir promised the whole world that the MSC was backed by an unalterable Bill of Guarantees. Among them were pledges that Malaysia would not censor the Internet, would not police cyberspace, and would not interfere with the freedom of expression over the information superhighway.
Backdoor Censorship
Under Section 3 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, the government prohibited the censorship of the Internet, although there are provisions to act against “defamatory and false information”. Recent events, however, suggest that such official restraint is ending.
But there have been attempts at “back-door” censorship – indirect means to cow dissent on the Internet. Malaysiakini journalists had been barred from official press conferences and their news reports on corruption and abuse of power were greeted with stone-cold silence. And the website constantly had to look for new sources of funding after major advertisers pulled out.
What’s more, the fear of the ISA is so pervasive that many Malaysians are reluctant to air critical views on e-mail discussion lists for fear of being traced – fears that were not unfounded as seen by last month’s ISA arrests of e-mail “rumour mongers”.
The sight of police carting away computers from the Malaysiakini office could prove costly for the MSC and turn off some potential investors. But little is heard of the MSC these days and it is unlikely that many new foreign software or multimedia investors are making a bee-line for a slice of whatever action there is left in Mahathir’s Corridor. The authorities may have factored this in when deciding to launch the raid.
Raids on the Malaysian media are nothing new. Even before the latest developments, Malaysia had been ranked a lowly 110 out of 139 nations in an inaugural survey carried out by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) (see box)
Uncertain Landscape
The raid on Malaysiakini should be seen in the context of the uncertainty surrounding the political-economic landscape and a systematic clampdown on media freedom.
Deputy Premier and Home Minister Abdullah Badawi has not been fully tested, an election is looming and the transition to new political leadership after October looks far from clear. Meanwhile, various factions within UMNO are already jostling for positions. It is significant that the raid took place at a time when Abdullah is Home Minister, Mahathir’s successor designate. Thus, those who hope that the Abdullah era may usher in greater democratic space could be in for a disappointment.
Adding to UMNO’s worries is the factional split within its key ally, MCA, whose long-serving president Ling Liong Sik is on his way out. There is also the merger of two opposition parties - Keadilan and Parti Rakyat Malaysia – to create Parti Keadilan Rakyat. The merger creates a third force in Malaysian politics that could potentially rival the big two – UMNO and PAS - in the years to come.
Supporters of ailing jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim – who is all but blacked out in the mainstream media – have launched a campaign to seek his release in April, after his initial 6-year jail term (less one third remission) expires. They argue that he should be out on bail pending the final appeal on his subsequent jail term of nine years on the sodomy charge.
The last thing the ruling coalition wants at this time is for Anwar, who still has the ability to mobilise the grassroots, to be out during a time of transition in the UMNO leadership. The curbs on the media will restrict any attempt to highlight his supporters’ campaign in the media and the plight of the 130-odd ISA detainees.
More importantly, the next general election, due by 2004, is coming up soon. Let’s not forget that in the last general elections, hundreds of thousands of Malaysians were denied the right to vote as a result of a delay in processing voter registration.
Though most analysts expect the ruling coalition to win hands down given the redrawing of constituency boundaries and the post-Sept 11 scenario, it is still possible that a website like Malaysiakini can sway enough voters in marginal constituencies to tilt the balance.
On the economic front, no one knows what has been swept under the carpet over the last two decades. How our petroleum revenue has been used, for instance, remains a mystery to many Malaysians. The tales of corporate mismanagement, privatisation and corruption have not been fully told - much of these remain hidden behind a cloak of intrigue and speculation. There is precious little space for investigative journalism to probe these issues.
Above all, the ruling coalition is wary of the rise of an autonomous public space; it fears losing control of the instruments of repression and it fears the ability of ordinary people to think for themselves and make their own minds up.
Thus, the freedom to air critical views to a mass audience is the last thing the ruling coalition wants at this stage.
Importance of Media Freedom
One of the freest forums for democratic expression, Malaysiakini, headed by Steven Gan and his band of idealistic journalists, was born during the heady days of the reformasi era just before the 1999 general election. It quickly surpassed the other main reformasi draw, freeMalaysia.com, and continued when the latter faded away. In terms of ‘hits’, it was right up there along the other big ‘guns’ - websites such as Harakah daily and Laman Reformasi.
Giving thousands of Malaysians their first real taste of press freedom, it got off to a dream start and was soon overwhelmed with 100,000-odd visitors daily. The website played a key role in nurturing greater political awareness and critical thinking among Malaysians tired of the official propaganda in the mainstream media.
Malaysiakini, through its liberal reporting and analyses, proved also to be an important focal point for an alternative discourse to that being promoted by proponents of a conservative Islamic state.
Nearly all the reformasi webmasters calling for political change and reforms have remained anonymous for fear of the consequences, but Malaysiakini with its journalists proudly displaying their taglines was refreshingly different.
For now, Malaysiakini, which is struggling to make ends meet financially, has somehow managed to get back online, reporting news of the raid on its website. Its gutsy journalists are not about to throw in the towel and Malaysiakini remains - ironically for Mahathir - Malaysia’s best known dotcom company.
A. Netto
Rather, what groups are demanding is greater freedom to express critical and opposing views and hitherto suppressed grievances. We need to have enough faith in the maturity of our society to allow such views to be aired.
Freedom of expression would allow all views to be debated and discussed in the open. It would provide an outlet for frustration, dissent, and grievances. Suppressing such views would only push them underground, below the surface, where they can be exploited by fringe and extremist groups. Better to listen and acknowledge such views than to suppress them and to heighten any sense of frustration.
Some analysts have argued that it is impossible to have genuinely independent media as media organisations, including the established international media giants, tend to reflect the views and the agenda of their owners. They all have their own editorial positions and even bias, however subtle. Newspapers, through ownership or the political attitudes of its owners, may have their own political orientation and their own “biased” view.
Bias is natural. We all have our own unique views and perspectives and that in itself is not wrong. To achieve genuine independence and to promote a diversity of views, more voices and media outfits should be allowed to emerge. This is where freedom of the media comes in: the freedom to articulate new opinions and views using various editorial slants, to counter the dominant voices of the corporate-political media giants, which have their vested interests.
A more level media playing field should include the newsletters, newspapers and journals of citizens’ groups, trade unions, public interest groups, residents and community organisations, consumer groups, etc.
Greater media diversity is essential so that all sides of any issue can be aired and debated in the public arena. This is referred to as the concept of “countervailing powers”: increased diversity in ownership of media, including radio, television, the Internet, can greatly improve coverage and the contestation of ideas and overcome the bias of individual media organisations.
Informed Choices
An adequate legal and economic framework should be established to facilitate universal access to and ownership of alternative, participatory, democratic, independent media.
Political and civil rights, especially those related to the guaranteeing of open discussion, debate, criticism, and dissent, are central to the process of generating informed and reflected choices, asserted Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. These processes are crucial to the formation of values and priorities in policy making: we need open dialogue and free expression to assess and resolve social and political problems.
When discussing freedom of expression, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is crucial:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
But Malaysia’s Sedition Act 1948, a colonial legacy, severely curbs this fundamental freedom by placing wide limitations on freedom of expression, particularly regarding “sensitive” political subjects such as race. Other laws that restrict such freedom are the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Official Secrets Act. Even as Malaysian government hosts the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, it has no qualms about using outdated colonial era laws to clampdown on dissent and free expression.
The tragedy of the Malaysiakini raid is that it highlights how difficult it is for civil society to create space to promote genuine democratic discourse to allow a truly autonomous space for participatory democracy. But the outrage and outpouring of support for the web portal provides a glimmer of hope for the future as more and more people appreciate and value the need for media freedom.
Now tell us what you think. E-mail us.
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