Media control in Malaysia is almost as old as the existence of mass media in the country. Malaysia falls under the category of democracy variously called "quasi-democracy", "authoritarian-democracy", or "Asian democracy".
The government is firmly controlled by the ruling coalition, Barisan National (National Front), for half a century. The ruling party has over the years created and reinforced numerous mechanisms to ensure an obedient media that will not jeopardize the status quo. Among the most oppressing legislations of the media includes The Sedition Act, The Printing Presses and Publication Act, The Multimedia and Communication Act, and The Internal Security Act.
It is also enshrined in Malaysian Constitution (as in any functioning democracy) that freedom of expression is a protected right. Article 10(1) of the Malaysian Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression to every citizen.
Societal stability has always been the justification by the government for enacting new laws and amending existing ones. Five legislatures stand out as among the most powerful direct control mechanisms utilized by the government to influence free speech and the media; the Internal Security Act, Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publication Act, Official Secret Act and Broadcasting Act (now replaced by the Communication and Multimedia Act).
The Printing Presses and Publication Act (PPPA) is a law that governs the printing press in Malaysia that was introduced and passed in 1984. It provided the Home Affairs Minister, the “power to grant or withdraw a printing license or a publishing permit”In addition to the power to control the domestic print, the act also requires foreign publication sold in the country “to pay a large deposit which would be forfeited if the publishers did not appear in court to face charges of publishing materials prejudiced to the national interest”
The Broadcasting Act of 1988 (replaced with the Communication and Multimedia Act 1996) encompasses all manner of broadcasting. Despite the recent proliferation of the numbers of channels that are available to the audience, both the television and radio remains an apparatus of the state.The media continues to air only materials that are not likely to challenge the status quo, that is, more fashion, traveling and pseudo-reality shows. The general public continues to be
excluded from any meaningful debate concerning the government and the administration.
The Sedition Act was enacted by the British in 1948. It was amended after the racial riots of 1969. The scope of the act is very broad and its definition very much open to interpretations. According to the act, sedition can be applied to or used in respect of any act, speech, words or publication. Seditious publication would include all written or printed material. It would be considered a seditious tendency to question the provisions of the Constitution dealing with language, citizenship, the special privileges of the Malays and of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. It is also considered seditious to bring into hatred or contempt the administration of justice in the country or point our errors or defects in the implementation or administration of government policies.
The Official Secret Act (1972) is “piece of legislature that hampered the working of journalists and dampened the development of investigative journalism” A byproduct of the 1969 racial riots, it prohibits a person from getting information that is deemed an official secret by the government for the fear that it may fall into the hands of the enemy. The legislature was further strengthened through an amendment in 1987 during the big political clampdown of the oppositions known as Operasi Lalang. Subsequent amendments made to the original Act had the “effect of making almost all official documents ‘official secrets’ thus making it illegal for journalist to have access to them”.
The Internal Security Act (ISA) 1948 is another remnant of the colonial administrations that has been conveniently retained by the government after independence. The Act provides for arbitrary arrest and detention without trial for an indefinite period based on mere suspicion that one "may be likely" to commit an act deemed dangerous to national security. A detainee is, therefore, presumed guilty without trial. It further allows a detainee to be held under solitary confinement for 60 days without legal counsel. The Home Minister has the power to extend the detention for another two years. The original purpose of the ISA was to counter in the Communist insurgency in the founding years of Malaysia, however the Federal Court proclaim that “the purpose of the ISA is for all forms of subversion but was more directed to communist activities which was prevailing at the time the law was enacted”
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) guarantees the right to freedom of expression in the following terms: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Article 19 of the UDHR, as part of a UN General Assembly resolution is not directly binding on any States. Nevertheless, it is “widely regarded as having acquired legal force as customary international law since its adoption in 1948 and therefore binding on all States”. Malaysia as a member of the United Nation should abide by the spirit its resolution.
The government is firmly controlled by the ruling coalition, Barisan National (National Front), for half a century. The ruling party has over the years created and reinforced numerous mechanisms to ensure an obedient media that will not jeopardize the status quo. Among the most oppressing legislations of the media includes The Sedition Act, The Printing Presses and Publication Act, The Multimedia and Communication Act, and The Internal Security Act.
It is also enshrined in Malaysian Constitution (as in any functioning democracy) that freedom of expression is a protected right. Article 10(1) of the Malaysian Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression to every citizen.
Societal stability has always been the justification by the government for enacting new laws and amending existing ones. Five legislatures stand out as among the most powerful direct control mechanisms utilized by the government to influence free speech and the media; the Internal Security Act, Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publication Act, Official Secret Act and Broadcasting Act (now replaced by the Communication and Multimedia Act).
The Printing Presses and Publication Act (PPPA) is a law that governs the printing press in Malaysia that was introduced and passed in 1984. It provided the Home Affairs Minister, the “power to grant or withdraw a printing license or a publishing permit”In addition to the power to control the domestic print, the act also requires foreign publication sold in the country “to pay a large deposit which would be forfeited if the publishers did not appear in court to face charges of publishing materials prejudiced to the national interest”
The Broadcasting Act of 1988 (replaced with the Communication and Multimedia Act 1996) encompasses all manner of broadcasting. Despite the recent proliferation of the numbers of channels that are available to the audience, both the television and radio remains an apparatus of the state.The media continues to air only materials that are not likely to challenge the status quo, that is, more fashion, traveling and pseudo-reality shows. The general public continues to be
excluded from any meaningful debate concerning the government and the administration.
The Sedition Act was enacted by the British in 1948. It was amended after the racial riots of 1969. The scope of the act is very broad and its definition very much open to interpretations. According to the act, sedition can be applied to or used in respect of any act, speech, words or publication. Seditious publication would include all written or printed material. It would be considered a seditious tendency to question the provisions of the Constitution dealing with language, citizenship, the special privileges of the Malays and of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. It is also considered seditious to bring into hatred or contempt the administration of justice in the country or point our errors or defects in the implementation or administration of government policies.
The Official Secret Act (1972) is “piece of legislature that hampered the working of journalists and dampened the development of investigative journalism” A byproduct of the 1969 racial riots, it prohibits a person from getting information that is deemed an official secret by the government for the fear that it may fall into the hands of the enemy. The legislature was further strengthened through an amendment in 1987 during the big political clampdown of the oppositions known as Operasi Lalang. Subsequent amendments made to the original Act had the “effect of making almost all official documents ‘official secrets’ thus making it illegal for journalist to have access to them”.
The Internal Security Act (ISA) 1948 is another remnant of the colonial administrations that has been conveniently retained by the government after independence. The Act provides for arbitrary arrest and detention without trial for an indefinite period based on mere suspicion that one "may be likely" to commit an act deemed dangerous to national security. A detainee is, therefore, presumed guilty without trial. It further allows a detainee to be held under solitary confinement for 60 days without legal counsel. The Home Minister has the power to extend the detention for another two years. The original purpose of the ISA was to counter in the Communist insurgency in the founding years of Malaysia, however the Federal Court proclaim that “the purpose of the ISA is for all forms of subversion but was more directed to communist activities which was prevailing at the time the law was enacted”
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) guarantees the right to freedom of expression in the following terms: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Article 19 of the UDHR, as part of a UN General Assembly resolution is not directly binding on any States. Nevertheless, it is “widely regarded as having acquired legal force as customary international law since its adoption in 1948 and therefore binding on all States”. Malaysia as a member of the United Nation should abide by the spirit its resolution.
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