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Media Conference          
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Parliament, Monday): Shame on Information Minister, Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin in hiding behind Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to reject the 2007 worldwide press freedom index of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which saw Malaysia recording two “worst” - the sharpest plunge of 32 spots from 92 last year to 124 placing, which is also Malaysia’s worst ranking in the RSF annual worldwide press freedom ranking since it was started in 2002.

It is a public slap in the face of the Zainuddin as Information Minister as well as the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who had promised to allow greater press freedom in the country that Malaysia has now been given a worldwide press freedom ranking which was even worse than under the era of former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

However, instead of courageously addressing the widening deficit between the promise of greater press freedom and the reality of worse media control and censorship, Zainuddin has decided to outdo himself in his inveterate state of denial, even hiding behind Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to call on Malaysians to ignore the RSP press freedom index.

Zainuddin’s chicanery and hypocrisy were immediately obvious, for he never had any good word for Kuan Yew before.

Is Zainuddin prepared to be consistent in his current pastime of singing praises for Kuan Yew and support the Singapore Minister Mentor’s endorsement of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which repeatedly listed Singapore among the world’s top five among the least corrupt nations while Malaysia’s CPI ranking had plunged further in the past four years of Abdullah’s premiership – again to a new low never plumbed during the Mahathir administration!

I have given notice to the Speaker, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah to move a motion of urgent definite public importance in Parliament on Tuesday on Malaysia's worst-ever ranking in RSF’s 2007 worldwide press freedom index.

Zainuddin should support such an urgent debate in Parliament on Tuesday where he could put forward his case for supporting Kuan Yew’s rejection of RSP’s worldwide press freedom index while rejecting Kuan Yew’s endorsement of the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

In my notice of motion to the Speaker, the arguments why there should be a debate of urgent, definite public importance on the 2007 RSF worldwide press freedom index include the following:

“Malaysia scored two ‘worst’ in the index – the sharpest plunge of 32 spots from last year’s 92 to 124 placing, which is also Malaysia’s worst ranking in the RSF annual worldwide press freedom ranking since it was started in 2002.”

“Last year, when Malaysia jumped 21 spots to 92nd ranking from the previous year’s 113th position, there were a lot of self-congratulations in government and mainstream media circles.”

“This year, Malaysia cannot make the same claim of scoring higher than all the other ASEAN countries, as we are behind Cambodia (85) and Indonesia (100) while in the Asia-Pacific region, we are behind Taiwan (32), Japan (37), South Korea (39), Hong Kong (61), Timor-Leste (94), Bhutan (116) and India (120).”

“Malaysia’s drop and placing for this year’s RSF 2007 worldwide press freedom index would have been worse if the shocking development that the Prime Minister does not want to hear the truth from the media and the public had been taken fully into account.”

“Malaysia’s worst placing in the RSF 2007 worldwide press freedom index joins a lost list of indicators that all is not right with Malaysia on the occasion of our 50th Merdeka anniversary – a sober reminder that while we should be proud of our national achievements, we have greater reason to be concerned about our many national failings, in particular the failure to honor the Barisan National’s pledge in 2004 general election for openness and reform as well as the urgent need for a Freedom of Information Act and to dismantle undemocratic and oppressive laws.”
 

(22/10/2007)