LETTER | Freedom of speech, press freedom and the operation of media have been severely oppressed by the ruling parties since Independence.

It continuously jeopardises the media environment, and obstructs the development of democracy and freedom. After years of effort, the opposition coalition has eventually won power, while an acceleration of the pace of reform remains an earnest wish of the general public.

The new government should strive to construct a new media environment which would be more reasonable and healthier for all. A new media environment which improves the rights of communication is indeed long overdue.

People should be allowed to collectively create, amend and change our shared culture in a society which embraces free flow of information.

It is definitely a tough and challenging task to reform and rebuild the media environment in our country. Meanwhile, it also requires active participation and support from the public.

Thus, we, the academicians from the field of media and communication, would like to urge the government to take the following suggestions into consideration for media reform:

Enact laws to protect press freedom, free flow of information and the right to know

The government should deregulate its control over press freedom to the greatest extent possible, while also repeal or amend laws that stifle press freedom and the free flow of information.

• Laws should be enacted to protect press freedom, free flow of information and the right to know. Also, the government should promote the diversity of public opinions and ensure an equal access to media.
• Constitutional amendment to protect press freedom.
• Repeal the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. The government should replace the licensing system with a registration system, so that any printed media would have the right to publish after their registration with the Home Ministry. No approval from the ministry should be required.
• Repeal the Anti-Fake News Act 2018, and allocate resources to promote media literacy education, and nurture the media literacy and taste of citizens.
• Abolish the Sedition Act 1948.
• Enact a Freedom of Information Act, so as to allow media access to data and information of government, and to promote the right to know.
• Amend the Competition Act 2010 in order to limit capital from cross-controlling different media, and to avoid the same media monopolising the media industry vertically and horizontally.

The government should distance itself from leading a media council.

After repealing and amending draconian laws that oppress press freedom, media players should set up a self-funded media council. The government should not involve itself in the media council except for providing funding. A media council should be given the autonomy to operate on its own, free from government intervention. This is to avoid it becoming a government mechanism to institutionalise its control over media.

Reform the state-owned public broadcaster into an independent public institution.

We strongly urge the government to turn Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) into an independent public institution, rather than corporatising it to become another commercial media operator. A reformed RTM should get rid of its role as a government mouthpiece; instead, it should transform itself into a politically neutral public service broadcaster which would serve the interests of all.

It should become a platform for both ruling and opposition parties, NGOs, public intellectuals and the citizenry. It should foster a more interactive public dialogue and promote deliberative democracy.

Policy intervention in supporting non-mass media

To encourage the diversity of media and public discussion, to protect the communication rights of marginalised groups, such as the aboriginal and economically disadvantaged communities, dissident groups and other related stakeholders.

We are of the view that the government should subsidise alternative or non-mass media: Aliran Monthly, indigenous media, environmental magazines, dissident media, to name but a few. The government should set up a fund along the lines of the universal service provision (USP) to contribute funds and resources to enable these non-mass media to survive and sustain in a healthier media environment.

Fund allocation could be derived from government budgets, while the media are required to contribute a certain ratio of their profits to the USP once they attain a certain profit level.

Media Literacy as part of a national curriculum 

We urge the government to list media literacy as part of a national curriculum for our public and private secondary schools and tertiary education system. It is vital to educate and equipped citizens to manage the skills of identifying, analysing, evaluating and criticizing various messages from different sources of media in the era of information explosion.

We implore the government to call for and appoint academicians, experts, media players and related stakeholders to form a committee for policymaking in media reform. This committee would be tasked to carefully study afore-mentioned proposals, to formulate an action plan, and to execute the tasks within a time frame.

Undersigned:

Chai Lee Mei

Chang Teck Peng

Chung Lee Peng

Gayathry Venkiteswaran

Kaw Pai Yeow

Koh Ea Boon

Kuan Chee Wah

Kwan Wan Shi

Leong May San

Liaw Pey Wen

Mustafa Kamal Anuar

Ng Miew Luan

Soo Shey San

Tan Lee Ooi

Wong Chiew Kung.

Wong Kok Hoo

Zaharom Nain

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.