KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the dip in rankings this year, press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recognises Malaysia as a model for media freedom in Southeast Asia, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi added that RSF has expressed willingness to collaborate with the Malaysian government to enhance media freedom in the country.
He said that an invitation has been extended to RSF to attend National Journalists’ Day (Hawana) 2024 celebrations in Kuching, Sarawak, from May 25 to 27.
“I am not upset with RSF regarding our media freedom ranking. In fact, RSF is open to collaborating.
“Therefore, I have asked Bernama to extend an invitation to RSF for the National Journalists’ Day in Kuching. They (RSF) are very pleased to attend.
“From my perspective, RSF acknowledges Malaysia as a model for media freedom in Southeast Asia. This is not my statement, but RSF’s,” he said recently, as a guest speaker for the PodaBoom podcast segment by Scoop.
The podcast was hosted by the Big Boom Media group editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez, group chief executive Datuk Zainul Arifin, and group executive director Datuk Ahirudin Attan.
Earlier, the World Press Freedom Index 2024 report published by RSF on May 3 revealed that Malaysia dropped 34 places to rank 107th compared to 73rd last year, with a score of 52.07 points.
For the first time in three years, Malaysia did not lead Asean countries in the ranking, with Thailand taking the 87th spot.
Commenting on the report, Fahmi, who is also the spokesperson for the unity government, said RSF informed them that the ranking is based on feedback from respondents who fill out surveys.
“Sometimes, we wonder what we did to climb 40 places last year.
“In my recent meeting with RSF, I learned that their calculation method involves sending surveys to respondents. The ranking is based on what these respondents report, so that’s their methodology.
“Who are these respondents? I didn’t ask, but to me, these numbers only make sense if we understand where we are, where we are going, and where we believe we need to be,” he said.
He added that the government would review and examine the best steps and methods to improve media freedom.
“We want to see what we can compare or the recommendations from RSF that we can adopt.
“I’m not saying this system is the best or the most accurate measure. There may be significant differences in how they view media freedom compared to us. But we are looking into what we can do to improve.
“I am not satisfied, not just with our ranking, but generally. I want to do more,” he added. – May 23, 2024