The international NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged other countries to put pressure on Malaysia for the increasing restrictions on the media the country is imposing, and not merely issue statements.

This comes after the arrest of two Australian journalists in Sarawak last Saturday, when the duo approached Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and put questions to him.

“This cannot continue forever,” RSF Asia-Pacific desk chief Benjamin Ismail said in a statement last night.

“The international community must react in a concrete way and not just limit itself to statements.

“The United States must condition implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on respect for democratic freedoms, starting with freedom of the media and information.”

Benjamin added that it would be an 'understatement' to say censorship is now growing in Malaysia, which already ranks 147th out of 180 countries on the RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index .

The arrests followed the blocking of the websites such as Sarawak Report, Asia Sentinel, Medium, and others, he noted.

The two journalists are reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu, who report for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Four Corners investigative journalism programme.

They had reportedly questioned Najib on why millions of ringgit were deposited into his bank account as Malaysia’s prime minister, as Najib walked into a mosque.

The police accused Besser and Eroglu of 'aggressively' pursuing Najib, and arrested them at their hotel about two hours after the incident. ABC has denied that its reporters behaved aggressively, nor did they see any security cordon.

The duo were initially to be charged under Section 186 of the Penal Code today, for obstructing a public servant from doing his duty.

However, after a last-minute change of heart, the police said the two journalists would instead be deported .

Financially impacted

The international incident coincided with the closure of The Malaysian Insider (TMI) which was financially impacted after Putrajaya blocked the mainstream news portal.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Society (Hakam) in a statement today, urged the government to rethink its repressive stance against media freedom which it said undermines and subverts the rule of law.

"It is widely acknowledged that TMI provided balanced reporting consonant with the highest professional journalistic standards throughout its existence these past eight years.

"The government's undemocratic action to shut out critical reporting, especially related to the notorious scandals, shames us in the eyes of all right thinking people; and denigrates our standing in the international community.

"TMI's closure date - 14th March 2016 - will go down in the annals of media freedom as a dark and dreary spot," it said.