Malaysia’s 141st position in the US based NGO Freedom House global press freedom rankings across the world is akin to armchair reporting, according to Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Rais Yatim, when answering oral questions in Parliament today.

Teng Boon Soon (BN-Tebrau) had asked the ministry to state if freedom of the press in Malaysia is still limited as indicated in a global survey by Freedom House which came with a “Malaysia press is still not free” comment.

rais yatim pc 020709 01 Rais ( right ) replied that there is sufficient press freedom and that the media is growing rapidly.

“The level of media freedom is different between different countries. The lifestyle in different continents formed the media cultures and practices in each country, and therefore the ranking given by Freedom House is not accurate.”

There are 76 dailies, 151 channels on satellite television, nine conventional channels and 53 radio stations in Malaysia.

 

“All opposition parties are also free to publish their own newspapers, and free to criticise the government,” he said, adding that the total of two million bloggers in the country and the existence of other alternative media reflects freedom of speech.

Rais added that although those in the media are free to voice their opinions, it is however subjected to certain laws and boundaries.

“The media do not have infinite freedom but are confined within ethics, rules and laws,” he said.

Teng then asked an additional question on whether the government will take steps to ensure that the recent incident of the termination of a TV producer would not damage our reputation.

Rais replied that the agencies making the termination would have their basis on how reporting should be done.