Political parties greeted World Press Freedom Day today by taking the opportunity to revisit the recent furore over The Economist special survey o­n Malaysia.

DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang called o­n Acting Prime Minister and Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to give special meaning to this worldwide celebration by announcing that the Home Ministry would refrain from adopting any "punitive or retaliatory action" against the publication for its series of articles in its April issue.

As a personal seal of commitment to a free and independent press, Lim called o­n Abdullah to "ensure that the whole furore over The Economist is resolved by World Press Freedom Day and that it is not left as o­ne of the outstanding issues which has to go o­n to the plate for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to handle o­n his return from his two-month leave."

In the recent week, Umno leaders have claimed that the special survey in The Economist had painted an unfair and inaccurate picture of Mahathir's leadership over the past two decades. At the heart of the dispute is an article entitled 'A Qualified Success' which critically assessed Mahathir's achievements. Abdullah called o­n the publication to apologise for its analysis that hinted "ill-will" at the government, threatening a ban of the foreign magazine should it decide not to do so.

"Abdullah's first major policy speech when he became Acting Prime Minister in early March was his brilliant diagnosis of the Ugly Malaysian, the 'first world infrastructure, third world mentality' malaise"... succumbing to the pressures for a media crackdown now would o­nly typify the reflexes of this personality, said Lim.

Pervasive problem

On the same issue, Keadilan vice president Dr Xavier Jayakumar asked, "So what if it is a critical report? Is the Mahathir regime or any regime above criticism?"

Jayakumar took the opportunity to comment that self-censorship of the media has become such a pervasive problem in Malaysia that o­ne of the first things people do when they meet someone working in the mainstream press is to "ask for the news."

"No, not the 'news' that was published in the rag last week - but the "real" news. The stuff you cannot tell anyone."

"Malaysia's dismal human rights record and the brutality of the Mahathir regime to the opposition is well known. But the Malaysian media's decision to cower and not do investigative reporting ... confirms that there is o­ne story for the 'insiders' and another o­ne for the 'regular suckers'," he added.

According to Jayakumar, this misplaced patriotism of the mainstream press is indicative of how far the industry will go in denial of reality.

"I suppose we must be thankful for the furore over [ The Economist's ] article, because now, there is a mad rush [for it] and it is number o­ne o­n the reading list," he said.

Over-reaction

Meanwhile, human rights organisation Suaram today issued a statement for World Press Freedom Day, calling the threats of ban and the demands for an apology by Malaysian leaders an "over-reaction".

In a dismal statement, executive director Cynthia Gabriel said that not o­nly does this behaviour reflect poorly o­n Malaysia, but that it also exposes the leaders' "stark intolerance to dissenting views and inability to take criticisms in stride - further begs the question of whether a free and independent press, will ever be able to see the light of day in Malaysia."

Not surprisingly, she said, Malaysia o­nce again fared poorly in a universal press freedom index by international media watchdog Reporters San Frontiers, ranking a lowly 110th, out of 139 countries surveyed.

Instead of perpetuating intolerant behaviour, Gabriel called o­n the government to enact a Freedom of Information Bill, which is in line with the government's ambition of turning Malaysia into a Knowledge-based society.

"There is no longer room for such unfashionable and outdated measures, rather steps should be taken to protect the right to information and to restore all safeguards needed for an independent press," she said.