COMMENT | On World Press Freedom Day, it was reported that the police have opened an investigation paper against Tashny Sukumaran, a journalist, over her news report of authorities arresting undocumented migrants during a raid.

This was despite Communications and Multimedia Minister Saifuddin Abdullah's statement that he had instructed the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to not act against the journalist.

It also flies in the face of the statement by the same minister that Malaysia will continue to uphold freedom of the press.

Recently, international organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published its annual World Press Freedom Index for 2020.

Malaysia showed significant improvement in freedom of the press after leaping 22 spots to 101 out of 189 countries.

This was consistent with the improvement the previous year, when Malaysia again climbed 22 spots from 145 to 123 in 2019.

According to RSF, freedom of the press in Malaysia received "a breath of fresh air" after a...