In 1988...

The government regards the mass media as a tool for nation building, development and national unity. To that end, the broadcasting media which are government owned and controlled have been instructed since the early 1970s to help oppose ‘anti-national elements’.

A new law was passed on Dec. 7, 1987, allowing the Information Minister to monitor all programmes to ensure that they are consistent with government policy. The Minister has the power to revoke the licence of any station judged to be in violation of the law… With a few exceptions, most of the large circulation press is, in fact, owned and controlled by individuals or groups close to the political parties which form the ruling coalition government, the Barisan Nasional (National Front).

A law which is seen as the most repressive of press freedom and freedom of expression, association and assembly is the Internal Security Act (ISA) of 1960, a relic of British colonial emergency legislation which allowed detention without trial for long periods. The ISA has often been used to suppress opposition views and political opponents, most recently in October 1987. Read more...

In 2008...

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy and has a system of parliamentary democracy. One coalition of political parties, Barisan Nasional (formerly known as the Alliance) has been in power since the country gained independence in 1957 and currently holds an overwhelming majority of over 92 per cent of seats in Parliament. It is a 14-party coalition dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). It also includes the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Parti Gerakan, People’s Progressive Party and 10 others from the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak. In Malaysia, political parties, like the media and most other aspects of life, are divided along ethnic lines; the three major ethnic groups are Malay, Chinese and Indian.

Although Malaysia prides itself on being a democracy, which it formally is, its civil and political institutions are in practice anything but open and democratic. This is nowhere more clearly reflected than in the laws and practices relating to freedom of expression. The media are subject to tight legal control by the authorities and powerful business interests which are close to government. Those who dare to speak out against the governing elites face a barrage of restrictive laws which have been used to great effect, including against opposition political figures.

Legal and Regulatory Framework

Article 10 of the Federal Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression for all citizens. However, the Constitution allows parliament to impose laws to restrict the right ‘in the interest of security, friendly relations with other countries, public order, or morality’. Articles 152 and 153 of the Constitution, which deal with citizenship, the national language (Malay) and other languages, and the special rights of Malays and the indigenous population, also limit the right to freedom of expression.

The regulatory structure relating to freedom of expression, inherited from the British, remains intact and indeed was reinforced and made more restrictive during the tenure of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (1981–2003). The current Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has promised more openness and transparency, but has so far done nothing to amend the regulatory structure which consists of a number of restrictive laws.

The Printing, Presses and Publications Act 1984 gives the Minister of Internal Security (previously Minister of Home Affairs) almost absolute power to grant, refuse, suspend or revoke the annual publication licence which newspapers must obtain to operate. This power extends to banning and prohibiting the importation of publications. In 1987, three newspapers were given suspension orders, leading to a serious problem of self-censorship in newsrooms which has had a negative impact on the overall quality of journalism throughout the country. Most newspapers and magazines prefer to toe the line rather than risk losing their licences. In 2006, four newspapers were suspended either permanently or temporarily for publishing copies of Danish cartoons felt to be insulting to Islam or articles about Malaysians’ sexual habits. In April 2007, police raided the office and the printer of the tabloid Putra Post, which published an article by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attacking the government. Police alleged that the newspaper did not have a valid publication permit and seized its computer and printing plates, even though sources suggest that the editor produced a valid permit.

The Official Secrets Act provides for tough penalties, including life imprisonment, for disclosing or possessing official secrets, or for failing to report information about an offence or suspected offence to the authorities. The law, based on the British Official Secrets Act 1911, gives broad powers to officials to classify any information as an official secret. It has been abused for political purposes. In 2007, leaders of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) and KeAdilan were investigated for disclosing concession agreements between the government and a highway builder, which the opposition claimed were aimed at ensuring long-term profitability for the company at the expense of the people. Recently civil society has started to mobilise for the adoption of a law guaranteeing a right to information and in 2006 Parti Gerakan, which is a member of the Barisan Nasional, was proactive in raising awareness among its members about the right to information.

‘The Sedition Act is a remnant of British colonial laws enacted to fight communism in the 1940s.’

The Sedition Act is a remnant of British colonial laws enacted to fight communism in the 1940s. It defines sedition extremely broadly to cover speech, words, acts, publications and other forms of communication that would have a seditious tendency. The law has been used repeatedly to charge opposition leaders from the opposition DAP, including Fan Yew Teng in 1977, Oh Keng Seng in 1980 and Lim Guan Eng in 1998.

Defamation law has over the years been used by plaintiffs with such great success that a trend has emerged of ‘mega-defamation’ suits where successful plaintiffs sue for and are awarded large sums in damages, bankrupting media organisations, media workers and writers. Courts have almost absolute discretion over the level of damages that can be awarded and the practice has been to make higher awards to wealthy business people and public figures, on the basis that the injury to their reputations is more serious. For example, former Deputy Prime Minister and now KeAdilan adviser Anwar Ibrahim was awarded 4.5 million ringgit (approximately US$1,291,250) in damages in 2005 in connection with the book 50 reasons why Anwar cannot be Prime Minister by Khalid Jafri.

The Internal Security Act (ISA), passed to fight the communist insurgency at the end of the Emergency Period in 1960, is a highly controversial law which has been heavily criticised both domestically and internationally. It gives the responsible Minister sweeping powers to order detention without trial for extended periods and has been used widely against opposition politicians, dissidents and activists, including protesters against the massive Bakun Dam project. In recent years, some private individuals and groups have joined officials in calling for the application of the ISA, for example in cases involving religious freedoms. In 2006, the Inspector General of Police, Musa Hassan, threatened to use the ISA against those who alleged falsely via SMS (mobile phone text) that a group of Muslims was being baptised in the state of Perak.

Political Expression

‘In a recent incident, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission issued a letter to private broadcasters ordering them not to air any opposition speeches. The Minister in charge, however, ordered the letter to be withdrawn in the face of sustained criticism.’

Political control over the media means that opposition parties rarely get coverage in the national dailies or broadcast media. In a recent incident, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission issued a letter to private broadcasters ordering them not to air any opposition speeches. The Minister in charge, however, ordered the letter to be withdrawn in the face of sustained criticism.

The authorities have demonstrated a willingness to use the repressive legal framework governing expression – including all of the laws mentioned above – to prevent politically embarrassing reports or public criticism. Indeed, it is precisely in the political arena that speech is most harshly restricted. A study by the International Bar Association in 2000, for example, highlighted serious problems with judicial independence in Malaysia in political cases; in contrast in commercial or business cases there was greater respect for the rule of law.

News Media

The government and government-affiliated businesses control almost all the media in Malaysia. The government owns two television channels (TV1 and TV2) and 32 radio stations, of which eight are national and 24 broadcast in specific states. There are also four other free-to-air television stations, two subscription television operators and 16 private radio stations. The country also boasts some 34 mainstream newspapers.

The biggest player in the industry is Media Prima, a government-affiliated conglomerate, owner of the powerful New Straits Times Press, which publishes various mainstream papers including New Straits Times, New Sunday Times, Malay Mail and Sunday Mail, Berita Harian, Berita Minggu, Harian Metro and Metro Ahad. Media Prima also owns all four private free-to-air television networks, has a stake in the newest subscription television service, MiTV, and has recently started broadcasting via two radio stations.

Tiong Hiew King, a timber tycoon believed to be friendly with the MCA, currently owns four of the major Chinese language papers, namely Sin Chew Daily, Guang Ming Daily, China Press and Nanyang Siang Pau. The Astro All Asia Networks, owned by tycoon Ananda Krishnan, was the first provider of subscription television services and continues to dominate this market. It also provides eight free-to-air and nine subscription radio channels. NexNews, under the Berjaya Group of Companies, publishes The Edge weekly and The Sun daily and is also the main owner of MiTV. The chairman of Berjaya is Vincent Tan, who also has shares in Media Prima. Both Ananda Krishnan and Vincent Tan are perceived to be close allies of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Lau Swee Nguong, head of the KTS Group of Companies, has stakes in Oriental Daily News, Borneo Post (Sabah), Borneo Post (Sarawak), See Hua Daily News (Sabah), See Hua Daily News (Sarawak) and Utusan Borneo. He is perceived to be the most independent of the owners listed above.

Parties belonging to Barisan Nasional own several newspapers including Kosmo, Mingguan Malaysia and Utusan Malaysia (UMNO); The Star and Sunday Star, and a small stake in Nanyang and China Press (MCA); and Tamil Nesan (MIC). There are six opposition party papers, one is linked to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. There are also two critical Internet-based dailies, Malaysiakini.com and Merdekareview. Generally, the Chinese language press is more vocal and independent than the Malay or Tamil press.

New Technologies

Approximately 33 per cent of the population had access to the Internet and 72.3 per cent to cell phone technology by the end of 2006. The government’s Multimedia Super Corridor, launched in 1996 to develop Malaysia as a technology hub, brought with it legislation to support freedom of expression in cyberspace. In particular the Bill of Guarantees and the Communications and the Multimedia Act pledged not to censor the Internet. Despite this, the Malaysian blogging world is starting to come under threat from both the State and private entities. In January 2007, the pro-government English language daily New Straits Times sued two bloggers, Ahiruddin Attan and Jeff Ooi, with the Prime Minister echoing support a few days later, in what was seen as a test case for freedom of speech in cyberspace.

Repression of Media Workers

Overt harassment of journalists and media workers, although rare, is nevertheless of concern in Malaysia. In 2006, a journalist from the Chinese language online daily Merdekareview.com was kicked by a member of the Federal Reserve Unit while covering a public protest against a fuel price rise. In January 2007, police detained a journalist from Malaysiakini.com who was covering a protest against toll rises and confiscated his pictures. Print media journalists and editors complain of newsroom interference by the Ministry of Internal Security, in the form of ‘advice’, warning letters and phone calls. Among other issues, newspapers were ordered not to report on the street protest against the toll and fuel price rises, and the criticisms of Prime Minister Abdullah by his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad. Civil society groups have produced an unofficial ‘black list’ of Chinese journalists whose columns were terminated because they were outspoken.

Art Censorship

The last couple of years have seen increasing restrictions on live performances. Regulations on live performances are decided at the local level, leaving discretion in the hands of local authorities resulting in significant discrepancies in the standards enforced. In Kelantan, traditional art forms, such as the Mak Yong dance are considered ‘un-Islamic’ and have been banned since 1991. Even if a licence is granted, the police may raid a performance and arrest members of the audience. In January 2006 the National Fatwa Council, the country’s highest Islamic authority, issued a fatwa (religious ruling) banning ‘Black Metal’ music. Following the fatwa, police raided heavy punk and rock performances.

Films are also subjected to severe censorship. In April 2006, the film club Kakikino, which screens critically acclaimed international films every month at University Malaya, was forced to stop after the Malay paper, Berita Harian, ran several reports containing complaints from anonymous sources about the alleged pornographic nature of a film. Amir Muhammad, a local filmmaker, saw approval for the screening of his film The Last Communist reversed in 2006 because of its controversial title and because it recounted the life of communist leader Chin Peng. Amir Muhammad’s second film on communism, Village People Road Show, was banned in February 2007. Around the same time, the government also banned the film I don’t want to sleep alone by the Taiwan-based Malaysian Tsai Ming Liang. The reasons given included that it depicted homosexual relationships and showed the squalid side of Kuala Lumpur, which risked undermining the government’s efforts to encourage tourism. Following protests, the ban was lifted and the film was shown, with several scenes cut.