KUALA LUMPUR – There is much to consider when striking a balance between press freedom and the fight against defamation and the spread of false information, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
“I accept the report wholeheartedly. God-willing, my team and I will go through the report and formulate more sustainable efforts in the future,” he tweeted today.
His response came after Malaysia dropped 34 spots to rank 107 in the World Press Freedom Index 2024.
The country’s global score of 52.07 this year also places its press freedom in the “difficult” category, according to the rankings released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) today.
It also mentioned that the Malaysian government applied political pressure to prevent the media from covering controversial subjects or from attacking public figures, while the prison terms under the Sedition Act 1948 and Official Secrets Act 1972 affected Malaysia’s scores under the legal framework indicator, for which the country scored 34.04 this year and 44.58 last year.
According to RSF’s report, Malaysia is second among Asean countries, behind Thailand (87th place), while remaining ahead of Indonesia (111), Brunei (117), Singapore (126), the Philippines (134), Cambodia (151), Laos (153), Myanmar (171), and Vietnam (174).
The top spots are held by Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. – May 3, 2024