While welcoming the government's proposal to organise National Press Day beginning this year, the Institute of Journalists Malaysia (IoJ) said the government should look into fundamental issues concerning media freedom.

"Malaysia occupies a lowly ranking of 146 in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index, while media outlets and journalists are still subject to high handed actions by the authorities," said IoJ in a statement today.

Yesterday, Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak had said it was time for Malaysia to have a National Press Day to acknowledge and recognise the contribution of media practitioners in the development of the country.

"In recent years, journalists had been arrested under the colonial-era law Sedition Act, while news organisations had faced criminal investigation and also had their websites blocked by the government over news reports deemed to be against the state's interests," said IoJ.