This World Press Freedom Day, Malaysia sadly has nothing to celebrate especially with our disappointing ranking on the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). We are currently among the worst performers in the world, ranking 113 out of 180 countries in the 2022 report.
We have been stuck in what was termed by the report as a “difficult situation” for press freedom since the treacherous Langkah Sheraton in February 2020. This is in contrast to the improvements under Pakatan Harapan when Malaysia improved 22 positions on the ranking in 2019 just a year after PH took over the federal administration.
Tragically, as with overall good governance, freedom of the media in this country rapidly deteriorated to the pre-2018 situation after Langkah Sheraton. While RSF employed a new methodology for measurement in the 2022 report, and despite ascending 6 places on the index, the overall difficult situation for media freedom in Malaysia remained unchanged.
The RSF report rightly pointed out that we are now in a new era of polarization. Therefore it is crucial for us to mitigate the impact of such polarization in a multiracial society in Malaysia. The way forward is not to impede freedom of expression and media but to provide a safe space and encourage civil but frank conversations. Honesty and transparency are crucial for reconciliation just as suppression and secrecy promote polarization.
As such, DAP calls upon the federal government to immediately form the long overdue independent Media Council as a self-regulating body to facilitate, protect and regulate responsible media freedom in this country. A report and draft bill on the formation of Media Council were prepared under Pakatan Harapan but was then discontinued after the fall of the PH government.
It is also crucial to promote digital and media literacy so that the public can be informed and intelligent consumers of information in this age of misinformation.
Langkah Sheraton hurt Malaysia in many ways; our democratic rights were robbed and our public institutions corrupted. The impact will be felt in many areas for a long time to come if we do not immediately reverse the damages done. Media is critical in the process of restoration and rebuilding of our democracy. We must continue to expand and protect the right to media freedom in this country.