Malaysia: SUHAKAM joins call for greater press freedom
“Threats to national security should not be seen as an excuse to restrict freedom of the media," said SUKAMAN vice-chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun on World Press Freedom Day.
The National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM) has urged the Government to open up media space in line with the global trend that called for a freer press.
It asked the Government to scrap the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and instead enact a Freedom of Information Act.
NUJM president Norila Daud, in a World Press Freedom Day statement, said the mainstream media suffered from a negative public perception as a result of being restricted by the OSA, the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Internal Security Act.
She said the Government needed to be sensitive to the global information trend that called for a more open press and a policy of integrity, accountability and good governance.
“Lately, several newspaper companies were issued show-cause letters or had their licence suspended for not following government regulations.
“This act by the Government can only be seen by many quarters as trying to restrict the freedom of the press,” she said.
She also urged for the yearly renewal of newspaper permits to be abolished as the first step to a freer press in the country.
SUKAMAN vice-chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun also said the Government should not use the above Acts, along with the Sedition Act and Defamation Act, against the media.
“Threats to national security should not be seen as an excuse to restrict freedom of the media in relation to issues of editorial independence and the protection of confidential sources of information,” he said in a statement.
He added that the courts had to uphold freedom of expression and information when considering cases involving defamation actions.
“Exorbitant awards in relation to defamation actions will inevitably stifle press freedom and investigative reporting, by instilling a culture of fear in journalists,” he said.
The United Nations has reiterated the need to protect journalists and media outlets on the frontlines of exercising the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said attacks on journalists remain shockingly high in number and that the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that 11 journalists had been killed across the world so far this year.
“The CPJ also reports that as of December 2008, 125 journalists were in prison. Some have been incarcerated for years – and some for more than a decade.”
Ban said that in societies struggling to rebuild after conflict, free and responsible news media is essential for good governance and to promote confidence and trust between leaders and the public.
“Governments that stifle or otherwise obstruct this work are acting against their own best interests and that of their societies.”
Date: 4 May 2009
Source: The Star
