KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia has inched up six spots in this year’s World Press Freedom Index to 113 compared with the year before, but scoring lower at 51.55, which indicates “difficult”.
According to the index released to commemorate World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Malaysia is ranked the highest in Southeast Asia, above Thailand (115), Indonesia (117), Singapore (139), Cambodia (142), Brunei (144), Philippines (147), Laos (161), Vietnam (174), and Myanmar (176).
The report noted that the Malaysian government exerts a great deal of political pressure to deter the media from tackling taboo subjects or criticising politicians and officials, and the monarchy is an extremely sensitive subject, leading to generalised self-censorship on the topic.
It added that Malaysian journalists are rarely the target of physical attacks, but some are subjected to judicial harassment and smear campaigns.
Meanwhile, press freedom in the Asia Pacific has deteriorated with RSF attributing it to the military coup in Myanmar that led to a “harsh repression of journalists”.
The country “has become one of the world’s largest prisons for media professionals”.
“In Afghanistan (156), the Taliban’s seizure of power has worsened conditions for reporters and news organisations, who are the targets of all forms of intimidation and violence.”
Hong Kong (148) registered the steepest drop in ranking (68 places) with RSF noting that China (175) continues to extend its information control model.
“In countries reputed to be more democratic, the media face pressure from increasingly authoritarian and/or nationalist governments, such as India (150), Sri Lanka (146), and the Philippines (147).
“This region’s media also fall prey to the growing control of large industrial groups, whose influence encourages the self-censorship of journalists and editorial staff, as is the case, for example, in Japan (71), South Korea (43), and Australia (39).
“Conversely, the free exercise of journalism plays a major role in the consolidation of emerging democracies, as in Mongolia (90), Bhutan (33), and East Timor (17). Having developed institutional safeguards against political and economic influence, New Zealand (11) is a model in the region,” said the report.
This year also marks a new methodology adopted by Reporters Without Borders. The rankings are based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 and based on two components – a quantitative tally of abuses against journalists in connection with their work and against media outlets, and a qualitative analysis of the situation in each country or territory based on the responses of press freedom specialists to a questionnaire available in 23 languages.
Overall, Norway tops the index, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Costa Rica, Lithuania and Liechtenstein. – AFP, May 5, 2022
