I refer to the Malaysiakini report, Press freedom: Malaysia's worst ranking ever .

Last year, Reporters Without Border placed Malaysia 92nd in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index. Of the 168 countries surveyed, many Asian nations did rather badly, clustering in the highest (which is worst) quartile.

Assuming that the index is both valid and reliable, our nation seems to have improved our position last year compared to that of 2002 (110th spot). But that should not put us in complacency or make us proud, for we are still far worse than a number of impoverished and underdeveloped countries in Africa (for example, Benin and Namibia).

Indeed, the newly released 2007 index ranks Malaysia at 124th (out of 169 countries), the worst so far, putting our country at the 74th percentile, close to the worst quartile.

The questionnaire used for the survey includes a selected group of respondents' perception on indiscriminate arrests and torture of suspects, freedom of expression, and government's monopoly of mass media. Sadly, our nation continues to fare poorly in all these areas.

Will Pak Lah and other leaders spare a moment to ponder over this?