Cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, better known as Zunar, said today that BN will not change for the better so long as it continues to suppress press freedom.

gedung kartun 091209 zunar "Until this is achieved, don't talk about everything else, be it economic, industrial or social development," said Zunar ( right ).

He was speaking at a press conference at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur today.

At the event, 11 civil society groups and individuals launched a memorandum on press freedom in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day today.

After the 2008 general election in which BN lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament, the party took up full page ads in newspapers, carrying the phrase, BN boleh berubah (BN can change), a catchphrase it has continued to use.

This was an attempt to win over the public, that the ruling coalition is willing and able to change to stay relevant.

But Zunar remains unconvinced.

"It's unprecendented that a text message from the premier's wife (Rosmah Mansor) can affect the media," he pointed out.

NONE He was referring to an allegation by ntv7 former producer Joshua Wong that the premier's wife and the PM's Department had pressured the station into affecting editorial policy in the station's popular forum ‘Editor's Time'. He had resigned in protest .

Soon after that, RTM producer Chou Z Lam (lef t ) hit out at the  state-owned broadcaster for axing a documentary hehad  produced for TV2's ‘Galeri Mandarin Nasional'.

The documentary was on the forced relocation of natives in the Bakun Dam project.

He claimed it was axed to avoid controversy in the upcoming Sibu by-election and the Sarawak elections.

One month to explain

The memorandum on press freedom urged the government to explain within a month the alleged self-censorship at ntv7 and TV2.

It also called upon premier Najib Abdul Razak to give his "unequivocal assurance... that no one in his administration or family will undermine media practitioners' professional judgement in the choice of topics, angles and news sources".

The memorandum also demanded that:

  • A royal commission or parliamentary select committee be set up on media reforms
  • The entry barrier to media ownership be reduced while ensuring plural ownership of media
  • Political censorship mechanisms be replaced with autonomous regulatory bodies
  • That authorities protect journalists from intimidation in the practice of media freedom
  • That media practitioners refrain from self-censorship
  • The the government stops exploiting laws that curb media freedom and review the laws

NONE Centre for Policy Initiative academician Lim Teck Ghee ( right ), who was present at the press conference, noted that Malaysia's press freedom ranking - which is consistently at the lower 30 percentile - is "proof of our pathetic performance".

"The government's regressive hold over the media is strong, structural and absolute," he said.

Malaysia was ranked:

- 71 out of 100 countries surveyed in 2003

- 154 out of 193 in 2004

- 152 out of 194 in 2005

- 141 out of 194 in 2006

- 150 out of 195 in 2008

- 143 out of 195 in 2009 and

- 142 out of 196 this year, trailing behind East Timor, Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia.

‘Vital for democracy'

Coalition for a Clean and Fair Election (Bersih) representative Andrew Khoo who was there to sponsor the memo, said Malaysia may be materially better off than some of the countries in the listing, but that the people have lost out in terms of press freedom.

"They have a vibrant press, which makes them richer in the practice of democracy," he added.

Also at the press conference were Wong, Chou and representatives of the Writers Alliance for Media Independence, Centre for Independent Journalism, Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia, Research for Social Advancement and New Era College Progressive Front.

The memo which will be sent to the federal government at the end of this month, will be available for group and individual endorsement online .

Another sponsor of the memo, Moon Hui representing Suaram, hoped that the document will generate enough support from journalists and the public to force the government to implement media reforms.