E Contrario

“Must show power ma..”

My friends from Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) issued a rebuttal to PM Abdullah Badawi’s claim that Malaysian press are not tightly controlled on 24 October. We in Malaysia appreciate solidarity from our neighbours in our fight for press freedom.

Pak Lah has a habit of telling things that are blatantly untrue on TV. So far the journalists have been very forgiving and nobody has rebuked him on air. A few months back, answering Dr M’s criticism on TV3, the PM claimed that Scomi received no projects in Malaysia. Most TV audiences laughed their heads off at such an unashamedly dishonest answer.

However this time Pak Lah was more honest in his interview with CNN Talkasia on 14 October 2006. He denied that the press in Malaysia is tightly controlled. “The Malaysian press have freedom,” he said, then he went on to say that the main press know their role well and practice self-censorship as part of their social responsibility.

When asked about where to draw the line between freedom of expression and clamping down, Pak Lah nicely prescribed a traditional formula which all presses in Malaysia are following. He said “The drawing of the line comes from an understanding of those people who are in the press, understanding of our society, of our sensitivities. That is very important, they understand the society, our cultures, our values, our sensitivities and political sensitivities. That’s very, very important. If they understand, they’ll know what to say and what not to say.”

So, friends, the PM did not say Malaysian press are not controlled, he said they know how to control themselves. Well, to be precise, the control is done by putting obedient people in the management and editorial of the press and instructing cronies to take over ownership of all media corporations in the country.

Neat. Let’s quote what Pak Lah told Talkasia presenter Anjali Rao:
“Malaysian press have freedom, but they are very responsible press. They understand the situation in which they operate. That is Malaysia. They also have a role to what I call self censorship. But there are other press. The main press self-censor but there are other little ones, who exercise I don’t know what kind of freedom they have, to print all sorts of things and to say all sorts of things. And I think it’s wrong to say that we are right down there. I have not known of any country where the press is truly free.”

Anjali then asked: You yourself have said that freedom of press has its boundaries and that unbridled freedom could also lead to the chaos and suffering for everybody.

PM: “Yes it’s true I still hold to that view.”

Pak Lah’s opinion of the press is not very high. I don’t think he is any different when it comes to press freedom. Why need to control the press, Abdullah said: “Because press can be irresponsible, can incite feelings, can also create mistrust, can also create a state of tension.”

Pak Lah might be careless in a lot of governance matters. But he is certainly not careless with press control. That’s probably why he is sitting on the approval of Suara Keadilan’s publication permit until now.

Full Talkasia CNN transcript