Limbo low now, how low can you go? Malaysia is now ranked lower than Myanmar in Reporters Without Borders 2014 press freedom ranking.
Malaysia fell to 147th spot (down from 145th in 2013) and now lies two spots below Myanmar, which is just emerging from military rule. Myanmar climbed six spots from 151st place last year.
In contrast, both nations are well behind tiny East Timor, which is in 77th place, a leap of 13 places from last year.
Even the reporting of the RSF ranking in a local radio station’s news bulletin was slanted. I heard a noon bulletin announcing the top three countries on the list and the bottom three. But not a squeak about where Malaysia stood, even though that is what the average Malaysian would want to know.
Incidentally, our press freedom ranking resembles our current Fifa football world ranking. Myanmar is in 129th spot while Malaysia is in 154th place!
How depressing that Malaysia is now ranked below a country only now emerging from a repressive military dictatorship.
| Please help to support this blog if you can. Read the commenting guidlelines for this blog. |
Is Syed Mokhtar now eyeing media industry? Be very afraid!
Another sad event on local media:
Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary has completed the purchase of The Malaysian Reserve financial daily.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/254557
In my haste I over looked the editors point. A very valid point ignored if not over looked by most. The concentration of media ownership has in fact led to the restrictions to freedom of expression and what’s commonly referred to as free speech. Media concentration leads to censorship. It is often disguised as what’s euphemistically called “editorial discretion”. The opposition in Malaysia (or at least those elements who are loudest and perhaps not as sound or valid as an opposition as they think they are) are more guilty of this practice than even the government, the target of their… Read more »
For starters Malaysia has very few people it can by internationally accepted standards call journalists. There is a new breed of employed “bloggers” and scribblers not scribes who are able to access the mainstream media because they are able to string enough words to make a sentence (of sorts). Regurgitating clichés and borrowed expressions without much else of substance or imagination or style does not make one any more of a journalist than it does make me a doctor for giving an asprin to my wife for a headache or putting a band aid to a scratch or cut on… Read more »
Press freedom must be controlled for peace and stability. In fact ISA is a good act and should not be abolished. If PR DAP, PKR PAS come to power, I believed they will not abolished this act. DAP … dictator action already speak for itself
Oops! Sorry Anil. I mistakenly put my email address in d name box. Could you please change my email address with my handle “drteddy70”? Thanks and sorry for the trouble.
Done.
Care to explain which part of my comment looked like as claimed ??? To be honest, you comment like 1derful :p lol lol lol
I think the part where you wrote “why not you all pack everything and sell your assets and move to Myanmar ?”. That kind of language is so very typical of Ibrahim Katak and his merry band of Perkasa idiots. If I recall, some BUMNO brainless minister said something to that effects not too long ago (I can’t recall due to the fact that most (if not all) BUMNO ministers are equally brainless. I have not heard politicians from other parties asking citizens to leave the country. So, abb is right, you do sound like a UMNOputra.
hello drteddy70,
different context lah. BUMNO version is ‘you tak sukak, you keluar’.
my version is ‘since you guys are so hypocrite to say Myanmar is so good / better than Malaysia, then just walk the talks by living there’.
My standard certainly better than BUMNO, LGE, Teresa K, Rafizi and Anwar !!! I just a bit honest and direct in my thoughts.
Rich Daddy is asking you to experience life there before you start complaining. Once you are there, I believed you will jump in the instant to come back. Frankly speaking I do not give a damn for these ranking. There is no such thing as total freedom and press must be responsible in their reporting otherwise they must be shut down. While the US and the West talk of human rights and press freedom, have they actually walk the talk. Gunatanamo, drone shooting of own citizen deemed dangerous, preemptive strikes against innocent citizen, reporters went missing are a few examples.… Read more »
rich daddy,
you sound like another UMNOputra.
Do not waste your money on NST or The Star, the newsletter of Umno and MCA respectively.
This and that ranking only wasting your time. Each group has their own agenda. If you think Myanmar is SO GOOD (ok this is not that fried chicken shop advertisement !!!) then why not you all pack everything and sell your assets and move to Myanmar ??? Ada berani kah ??? Malaysia is almost perfect if you ignore the stupid politicians and religion Xtremists. Yes, I like >>>>>>>>> Malaysia <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< p.s: You should start crying when someone starting to ban blogging and internet. This very site anil also hentam BN kaw kaw 24/7 nonstop what. So free what ??? Apa… Read more »
BN got the repercussion of suspending The Heat?
Why is Malaysia, once on the same footing as Sg, Taiwan and Korea now sinks so low, in a pile of deep …, and our so smart kangkung pm even mentioned that he was hopeful we can be a developed nation by 2018, 2 years in advance of dr m’s 2020??? Dream on, kangkong land !!! But to yang and tulang, this is Lim Guan Eng’s fault… Why is Malaysia in deep …? Not only the ruling government, the leadership is responsible but largely its stupid people. The rakyat voted the same government for the past 5 decades and more.… Read more »
Ananars not yet comment.
He/She would say (like the paymasters) its just the perception issue.Just like barang naik harga just a perception as Nancy Shukri of PM dept said she can have drinks for 6 for a mere RM12 !
Someone commenting on this drop in press freedom ranking issue on another site had another angle:
The drop in ranking may actually point to some folks in the establishment being given pats on their backs – goal in limiting the rakyat’s access to balanced news and reports beiing achieved.
Just like BFM not permitted to broadcast the Anwar interview on its terrestrial radio channel… whoever issued that order to BFM is meeting his KPI?
Oops, my latest comment should be a reply to your last response to me, Anil.
Good point. Ownership and control of Philippine print and broadcast media is undoubtedly more diverse than here in Malaysia. Their print and broadcast media also don’t have the licensing permit hanging over their heads. Interestingly, I have never seen or read the Philippines–media, government, political parties, general public–ever referred to RSF rankings, let alone concerned over their “low” rankings.I have always wondered why. Is it because Filipinos are more open about themselves and are not sensitive or defensive like Malaysia. Is it because they know themselves better than foreigners? (This is unlike violence perpetrated against some of their journalists, because… Read more »
Well, maybe they are indeed happy with their more independent reporting that they don’t bother with rankings such as RSF’s, which probably gives weight to violence against journalists.
Don’t worry.
Malaise-sia still ranks higher than Cambodia.
Not to mention all those sub-Saharan Africa nations that continue to look up to
us as a role model.
Actually, we are even below Cambodia !
Never mind, we are still above Vietnam and the Philippines.
And we even beat the Little Red Dot down south ! In how many things can we
outrank Singapore ? Yay !
While it certainly looks bad for Malaysia, one has to wonder why the Philippines fared even worse than Malaysia. I know, journalists have been targeted for violence, several even killed. But, as far as I know, most of the killings were the result of people having problems with what the journalists had offered. Very few could be traced to the government, especially the federal government of the Philippines.Shouldn’t RSF make a difference between that and government restriction?
I think RSF gives a lot of weight to violence against journalists or jailings.
That is my point, but should they lump that with government restricting the press? I am not saying this violence is something to be sneezed at. Of course, not. But that is a different kind of problem. Consider this: despite the violence, Philippine traditional newspapers are more critical of the authorities on any given day than Malaysia’s, let alone their news portals. Philippine TV and radio news also frequently seek out and air comments of people in the streets and they are often critical. You can easily tell that ordinary Filipinos are far less afraid to speak their minds than… Read more »
There is also another aspect that is not given enough consideration and that is increasing concentration of media ownership and corporate control of the media, so that what we are fed now is a steady diet of corporate propaganda and frivolous or sensationalist reports masquerading as the news, while serious analyses of the issues that matter are sorely lacking.
The low ranking is not a surprise at all, Malaysia’s ranking in everything else is just as bad !
What can you expect the entire country is in a shamble and Najib is not in the least worried of it’s ranking …
Not surprising at all considering the mainstream newspapers provide only one-sided reporting and same with TV1-TV9 and the Media Prima stations all owned by Umno. Astro Awani is also very skewed.
Better read the internet news and stop buying local newspapers.
Save money when times are bad.