CIJ launches inaugural Twitter campaign for World Press Freedom Day

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is organising its inaugural campaign on Twitter today in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day last Sunday.

First and foremost, we would like to commemorate the contribution of our colleagues in the media. Right after the recent political turmoil, which led to a change in government, the media has continued to brave the COVID-19 pandemic, as among the frontliners, in ensuring that the public is informed in a timely and responsible manner. This too at a time when the media in Malaysia are in the midst of combating multiple threats, including: financial crisis, restrictions by the government and an increase in disinformation or “fake news”.

Our campaign today is aimed at getting the discussion going on the state of media freedom in Malaysia, including the challenges experienced by our journalists and other media personnel on the ground.

And who better to ask than those working in the media themselves?

To ensure adequate representation, our campaign today will incorporate views and input from male and female reporters, freelancers, videographers and camera technicians, stylists and makeup artists, newscasters, TV anchors, former reporters, Mandarin and Tamil-speaking reporters and those reporting in East Malaysia.

We are also organising a brownbag session with civil society organisations and select members of the media later this afternoon to discuss these challenges at length, as well as the role of the media in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and steps needed to support the media during this crisis.

We note with concern that the media continues to face overwhelming threats relating to misinformation and disinformation, censorship, crackdowns on “fake news”, and more so with this new administration in power.

The timing of the campaign incidentally coincides with the questioning of South China Morning Post news correspondent Tashny Sukumaran at Bukit Aman today over a recent article she wrote about the May Day immigration raid in the Kuala Lumpur city centre. We stand in solidarity with her and condemn such actions by the authorities as they infringe on media freedom and media independence.

Just yesterday, journalists were reportedly barred from covering a court proceeding involving a high-profile individual. No reason has been given for the barring, despite the law being clear that journalists and members of the public have the right to attend open court proceedings. Barring journalists from court proceedings raises concerns of potential misreporting and one-sided information.

It is fundamental that media freedom and freedom of expression as enshrined in our Federal Constitution and other international human rights standards are upheld by the current government. This includes promoting informed debates as fundamental to informed decision-making, and, as such, critical views must not be censored or criminalised – especially in times like this, and with a new government in power.

The government of the day should also move towards enacting a right to information law and repealing or amending repressive laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Sedition Act and amending Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act so that these laws are not utilised arbitrarily to stifle all manner of speech.

Any measures taken to tackle COVID-19 and has the potential to restrict media freedom must be legal, necessary, proportionate and temporary with the aim of mitigating the immediate public health crisis. The government must work with the media in ensuring fair and equal access to all media outlets and platforms to all timely information related to the crisis. Journalists and news portals must be allowed the space to scrutinise and be critical, if necessary, of the government’s position or action.

As we move towards envisioning a future of strengthened and independent media, we once again repeat our call for the need for a transparent and independent self-regulatory body such as the proposed Media Council. The Media Council, in providing an avenue for arbitration of public complaints, would be instrumental in building confidence in the media and contribute to the credibility of news media organizations by upholding international standards.

6 May 2020

Wathshlah G. Naidu
CIJ Executive Director

For media inquiries, contact Vinodh Pillai at vndhpll@gmail.com