KUALA LUMPUR – At least two of the major incidents that contributed to Malaysia’s 34-place drop in the recently published World Press Freedom Index 2024 took place before the Madani government took the helm in Putrajaya in November 2022.
The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report detailed the criminal defamation charges against Sarawak-born British investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown and the deportation of Pakistani journalist Syed Fawad Ali Shah, both of which began during previous administrations.
In response to a query from Scoop, RSF mentioned these events as among the specific factors behind Malaysia’s decline from 73rd to 107th place, with an overall score of 52.07 in the 2024 index.
Other incidents noted by RSF include a police investigation into a controversial book cover bearing the national coat of arms, and the blocking of TV Pertiwi, a network run by controversial Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).
RSF Asia-Pacific bureau director Cédric Alviani told Scoop that the incidents mentioned primarily impacted the socio-cultural indicator, where Malaysia experienced a 23-point drop, from 75.85 in 2023 to 52.62 in 2024.
“The most significant deterioration was in the socio-cultural indicator… this indicator assesses the social or cultural constraints that affect journalists in their work of gathering and sharing information,” Alviani said in an email to Scoop.
RSF’s rankings are based on five indicators: political, economic, legislative, socio-cultural, and security.
Alviani specified that Malaysia’s score declined due to the blocking of websites deemed to be critical of the government, and an investigation against journalist Kean Wong following hundreds of police reports.
Additionally, Alviani said Rewcastle-Brown, who has exposed corruption in Malaysia, has been prosecuted for years in an “abusive” defamation case and was recently sentenced to two years in prison without being informed of the hearing.
In January, Rewcastle-Brown was sentenced in absentia by the Kuala Terengganu magistrates’ court to two years in jail for defamatory statements against Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah in her book, The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Exposé.
Rewcastle-Brown was first charged at the Kuala Terengganu magistrates’ court in absentia on September 23, 2021.
However, she claimed neither she nor her lawyers were informed of the hearing and that she was never formally charged.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was only sworn in on November 24, 2022, while his cabinet was appointed on December 3 the same year.
Alviani also noted that the blocking of TV Pertiwi had affected Malaysia’s rankings.
However, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) previously stated that its actions against TV Pertiwi were due to breaches of the 3R (race, religion, and royalty) boundaries.
Scoop had previously reported that the headlines for several of TV Pertiwi’s articles, which caused its suspension, appeared to directly target DAP, with some stories claiming that the Pakatan Harapan component party was touting a “Christianisation and liberalisation agenda.”
In response, TV Pertiwi chief operating officer Mohd Firdaus Salleh Hudin claimed “fair comment” in defence of their content.
Wong’s book, published by the Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, was scrutinised due to its cover featuring an altered image of the national coat of arms, leading to over 200 police reports. He was arrested last October but released the next day.
In April last year, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the Pakistani journalist-turned-refugee Syed Fawad was deported back to his country in August 2022 upon the request of the previous administration.
Syed Fawad had spent a decade in exile in Malaysia after investigating government corruption and missing persons cases in Pakistan.
Potential improvements to RSF’s methodologies
European Journalism Observatory co-founder Stephan Russ-Mohl suggested considering the cultural background of media landscapes in different regions when determining rankings like the World Press Freedom Index.
He cautioned, however, that since journalism culture differs strongly around the globe, the exact measurement and comparison of press freedom is methodologically an “impossible” mission.
“Nevertheless, the trial is worthwhile. The annual ups and downs in the index provide at least some information on whether the situation in a specific country is improving or worsening,” Russ-Mohl said when contacted by Scoop.
Russ-Mohl urged RSF to clearly communicate that the index covers only professional journalists’ work, arguing that including citizen journalists and public opinion complicates evaluations.
Disclosing survey recipients could impact the index’s credibility, potentially skewing results in democratic nations with high press freedom.
Meanwhile, National Union of Journalists general secretary Teh Athira Mohd Yusof told Scoop that RSF’s survey recipients should consist of a diverse range of media practitioners, especially since Southeast Asia’s media landscape vastly differs from that in the West.
She expressed hope that RSF had surveyed knowledgeable and experienced media personnel. – May 17, 2024
