NUJ: Under current govt, screws are tightening on press freedom
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) warned today that the Malaysian media is grappling with increased restrictions and obstacles under the Perikatan Nasional administration of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
NUJ general-secretary Chin Sung Chew said aside from cases of harassment and a clampdown on freedoms, journalists also had to cope with unfair dismissal practices.
His warning comes in the wake of its official Malaysia Media Report 2020...
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) warned today that the Malaysian media is grappling with increased restrictions and obstacles under the Perikatan Nasional administration of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
NUJ general-secretary Chin Sung Chew said aside from cases of harassment and a clampdown on freedoms, journalists also had to cope with unfair dismissal practices.
His warning comes in the wake of its official Malaysia Media Report 2020 that paints a bleak landscape of the Malaysian media.
The report was launched in conjunction with World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
"The Malaysia Media Report 2020 reveals that the Malaysian media is faced with difficulties and obstacles under the current government as it has seen several journalists being harassed over their articles and (some) personally attacked.
"In addition, the current PN government was perceived to violate press freedom by summoning some reporters and correspondents for police investigations relating to so-called inaccuracies over news reports or public information.
"Some of them were also summoned by the police for investigation under the Panel Code and Official Secrets Act," said Chin (above).
The report highlighted that Malaysia had suffered the world's biggest drop of 18 places in the World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders last month.
Among the numerous cases cited in the report include the charging of radio personality Patrick Teoh for a Facebook post that allegedly insulted a Johor royalty and the questioning of editor Boo Su-Lyn of health portal CodeBlue for news pieces on an inquiry into a fire in 2016.
The reports also cited that South China Morning Post journalist Tashny Sukumaran was investigated for her tweets on the immigration raid at Selangor Mansion, Kuala Lumpur, and highlighted a clampdown that followed Al Jazeera's release of a documentary entitled 'Locked Up in Malaysia's Lockdown'.
Another case cited was when the Federal Court fined Malaysiakini RM500,000 for contempt of court in relation to the news portal's readers' comments.
"It is our fervent hope that the discussion of a number of issues involving journalists will rouse the government’s attention and awareness towards freedom of speech and the freedom of the press in our country," said Chin.
"All these reported cases are not conducive to the right of freedom of speech and (constitute) an attack on press freedom. They deserve keen attention from the government, media industry, and society as a whole," he added.
Chin said that the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has intensified the blow to domestic media employees.
"Under the ongoing pandemic, many industries have been unable to withstand the economic shock and had collapsed. Media companies were no exception, especially the traditional print media which was the first to bear the brunt."
He said employees were unreasonably dismissed as media companies faced financial challenges and the NUJ was forced to assist members legally in recovering their dues.
"Government authorities, especially the relevant ministries which are responsible for the welfare of the media industry, must seriously look into the findings of this report and we hope the government seeks proper solutions to address these issues immediately," he added.
Chin said the media report was thoroughly researched and undertaken with the assistance of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Asia-Pacific Region and included the discussion on gender and diversity of media personnel, the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on the media industry, the development of press freedom and the formation of the Malaysian Media Council.
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