The cabinet has approved the Information Ministry’s proposal to allow equal media access for political parties to present their manifestos, said Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim today.

He said once the Parliament is dissolved or when the election campaign kicks off, parties from both sides of the political divide would be able to air their manifestos through the national broadcaster RTM and other broadcasters.

“However, a time limit and conditions would be imposed by the authorities, which I don’t need to elaborate here...

“As for the role of private broadcasters, this would be laid out through government decisions and the rights accorded by the laws that are being updated.

“God willing, this issue would be elaborated in a way that is transparent and can be understood by everyone,” he said.

He said the decision was made in view of the Article 10 of the federal constitution that guarantees freedom of speech, and in line with the 22 recommendations of the parliamentary select committee (PSC) for electoral reform.

Both the PSC in its recommendations, and Bersih in its eight demands, had called for fair media coverage for all political parties as one of the measures needed to ensure fair elections.

Practice adopted by other countries

In addition, he said the cabinet had considered the practice of Commonwealth and advanced nations on this matter, such as British public broadcaster BBC that allocates between 10 to 15 minutes to air manifestos during elections, subject to terms and conditions.

He said this was also practiced in Singapore, Thailand, and Burma, and is accepted by many parties.

However as a government broadcaster, he said RTM would give priority to the government, but it still needs to give voice to the people and other stakeholders, and allowing political parties to air their manifestos is a way of achieving this.

Rais was speaking at the launch of RTM’s new six-storey building, dubbed ‘Wisma Berita’, that would house some 600 members of its Current Affairs News Division at its Bukit Angkasapuri headquarters.

Also launched at the ceremony were its Berita RTM news portal and a digital archive for the broadcaster’s productions.

The minister had previously announced the proposal to broadcast the manifestos on May 22, but Bersih has slammed it as “superficial at best” and giving equal airtime is not the same as giving balanced reporting.

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