Blocking of UtusanTV’s website reminds us of Najib era: Bersih

PETALING JAYA – As the apparent block imposed on UtusanTV’s website made headlines, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) said free and fair media should be allowed to flourish under the Madani government.

In a statement, its steering committee said the Madani government should lead the way to promote open and public discourse on government-owned media so that Malaysians can judge for themselves the merits of competing views and ideologies.

It expressed hope that television channels such as Bernama and RTM would give free airtime for all coalition leaders at the state-level to talk about their manifestos, provide equitable media coverage, and host political debates between the coalitions and parties.

This is as the campaign period for the six state elections and one parliamentary by-election in Terengganu comes to a close with three more days left.

The statement was in immediate response to the apparent block of UtusanTV’s website by several internet service providers.

“Such actions (blocking of websites) are reminiscent of censorship undertaken by (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak against news portals and Bersih’s own website that were critical of his government,” it said, referring to UtusanTV and the alleged blocking of news portal Malaysia Now from June 28 to 30.

The site, however, is not related to Utusan Malaysia, as stated by Media Mulia, the company responsible for reviving the local Malay daily.

“UtusanTV.com site must be unblocked immediately. Should there be any concerns about the content of a media organisation, there should be a transparent process with a show cause letter and appeal opportunity before any blocking,” the committee said.

“A key cornerstone of democracy is free and fair access to public media by all political parties but sadly Malaysia has never witnessed such fair play during our elections,” it added.

Bersih highlighted how the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had been denied access to government media platforms back when they were still in the opposition.

With PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim now leading the unity government, Bersih said they should honour their pledge for media freedom as outlined in their 14th and 15th general election manifestos.

It also reminded that PH had promised to repeal draconian provisions in laws that could be abused to restrict free speech such as the Sedition Act 1948, Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, and Printing Press and Publications Act 1984. – The Vibes, August 8, 2023