Steven Gan : The number of laws which directly and indirectly impinge on press freedom in Malaysia is, no, not five or 10, but 35. They include the Internal Security Act, the Official Secrets Act, laws against sedition, libel and defamation, and contempt of court  just to name a few.

Until all these restrictive laws are repealed, there can be no genuine press freedom.

Malaysia is a democracy. We have freedom of speech, but no freedom after speech. There is freedom of movement, but no freedom of assembly. We have a plethora of publications  about a dozen or so newspapers in four different languages  but no free press.

K Kabilan : Press freedom shouldn't be fenced by laws and regulations. Rather, it should be pampered by one's self discipline coupled with a sense of responsibility and public awareness.

Nash Rahman : Kebebasan akhbar bermakna kebebasan untuk menyampaikan maklumat kepada rakyat mengenai perkara yang ada kepentingan umum, dalam lingkungan undang-undang dan peraturan yang digubalkan berlandaskan konsep demokrasi sebenar.

James Wong : Men do not live on bread alone; they need something to fill up their hearts and minds. Without press freedom, our hearts and minds are filled with rubbish.

Chuah Siew Eng : Press freedom seems to be a dirty word in this country  if what parliamentary secretary to the Information Ministry Zainuddin Maidin said in a seminar yesterday is anything to judge by.

But I'm more interested to hear what press freedom means to real people with inquiring minds. Care to write in your thoughts to the editors of the various mass media?

As for what I think it means, since the concept is continuously explored, let me just say for now that to me, it is the freedom to report what really happened on May Day in Kuala Lumpur two days ago, as in Kesas Highway on Nov 5, 2000, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman on Oct 17, 1998, and Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969.

Anand Krishnan : Press freedom, though vulnerable to abuse, is nevertheless an essential tool for shaping a society. There must always exist an avenue where ideas, actions and doctrines are contested without legal and political restrictions.

Chow Chui Lin : Without press freedom, there can never be responsible journalism. Journalists can never write the truth or what they know to be the truth. When writers begin twisting or hiding the truth to toe the line, they begin a dubious career of perpetuating half-truths and lies.

But it is society that pays dearly for the gag on freedom of speech. Conscientious writers who cannot bear to sacrifice ethics, leave the publication or even the profession. Those who choose to stay learn to compromise and become institutionalised media practitioners.

Sadly, we now have bred a generation of such writers as the country imposed increasingly tighter control on the press over the last two to three decades. Sadder still, the readers have also learned to accept and live with the lopsided reporting.

Freedom of the press is an indication of the nations maturity. Curbing it, is robbing people of their right to know. There can be no democracy when people do not have the right to question or discourse on things that affect their lives.

Tan Bee Ing : Press freedom is a Malaysian dream. Those in power will suppress it while the grassroots will fight for it. It belongs to everyone, and everyone has a share. The question is, at which level?

Francis Siah : Why do journalists have to fight and demand for something which is a right? It is absurd! But the crusade goes on because they feel stifled professionally by a controlled and subservient media.

Until and unless those in power can cut the barrier of mistrust they have for working journalists, the fight for press freedom will continue and intensify in this country.

What must be realised is that without press freedom, the nation is the loser. A revolution of a new order for the Malaysian press is certainly long overdue.

Susan Loone : Journalists cannot plead for press freedom without first making our stand clear on issues that affect human lives...issues such as civil and political rights, social justice and equality.

We have to stand up for ourselves and condemn the institutions that stifle such rights because it is the very same institution, governed by an oppressive regime that will deny us the freedom to express the truth.

As long as power is concentrated in the hands of a few, we will continue to be denied such rights

The illusion of wanting to remain "balance and fair" even in our personal lives, simply because we are journalists, legitimises repression of our freedoms.

Claudia Theophilus : The way I see it, press freedom will only exist and flourish where there is free and open access to information because it is about providing the masses with information enough to provoke and encourage the thought processes.

In this way, we citizens will possess the necessary knowledge, power and the courage (as a result of the conscientisation processes) to ultimately effect positive changes within our social, economic and political environment.

Kevin Tan : Press freedom means having the choice to exercise journalistic conscience. To do or not to do. To publish or not to publish without fear, without favour.

YS Tong : A movie once argued that pornography is the evidence that press freedom has been abused. I would agree with that but unfortunately nothing comes free and there is a price to pay for everything. If the good and bad of press freedom were to be put on a scale, the former will definitely weigh more.

And just to remind the government official who had likened certain journalists to "dogs of the western media imperialists"  there are dogs of the domestic political masters too.

Yap Mun Ching : I was once asked what it would take for there to be greater press freedom in Malaysia short of pushing for a repeal of restrictive information laws. I replied that Malaysians must first want to know before we, journalists, can start any meaningful fight for the freedom to write things down and let them be printed.

Instead, the sad truth is that there are people who have become so fearful that they dared not even say the name "Anwar Ibrahim".

Therefore, in this context, to have press freedom is to be able to overcome self-censorship and to stand up for one's rights to think.

Yoon Szu-Mae : A wake-up call that World Press Freedom Day events will only achieve critical mass if someone higher up pays for the catering.

Arfaeza A Aziz : Kebebasan akhbar adalah kebebasan untuk menyampaikan maklumat tanpa menghina daya fikir pembaca..

Yusof Ghani : Kebebasan akhbar ialah kebebasan untuk membaca apa yang kita sepatutnya tahu, bukannya apa yang orang lain mahu kita tahu supaya kita tidak tahu apa yang orang lain tidak mahu kita tahu.

Julian Lee : To be free is to be able to say what you want to say without any fear. However, such freedom must come with the social responsibility that promotes positive human values.