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Caucus public hearing in BM – let IGP declare police have no objection to media coverage

The Police should make clear that they are fully responsive to the people’s concerns about crime and the fear of crime by sending representatives to the third Parliamentary Caucus public hearing in Bukit Mertajam (at Jit Sin Chinese Independent Secondary School ) at 10 am on Sunday and declaring no police objections whatsoever to media coverage.

The Malaysian people cannot be blamed for concluding that the reason the second public hearing of the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance on “Fight Rising Crime” in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday became a “closed session” which did not allow media reporting, which was a departure from the first public hearing in Johor Baru last Sunday, was because of police pressure.

This is not conducive to the police regaining full public confidence in its mission to fight and reduce crime and the fear of crime.

The Police should welcome opportunities such as the public hearings of the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance to allow the people to speak their minds and adopt an open and positive attitude to public criticisms about the failings and failures of the police in its task to reduce crime and the fear of crime.

These criticisms are made not because the people are anti-police and want to indulge in police bashing, but because the people, like the Royal Police Commission which was formed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in one of his early initiatives when appointed to the highest office in the land 44 months ago, want to have a world-class police service which is efficient and professional enough to make the streets, public places and the privacy of homes safe and secure for citizens, tourists and investors.

Malaysians want the Police to be their friends and protectors and are prepared to give the Police all assistance and support to wipe out the country’s notoriety in crime and fear of crime, which former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam admitted a few days ago is a major disincentive for foreign investment. Continue reading “Caucus public hearing in BM – let IGP declare police have no objection to media coverage”

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Two greater maturity developments on occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary most welcome

Two greater maturity developments on occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary most welcome

Two developments showing greater maturity of Malaysians on occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary is most welcome as it is time that the government and leaders move away from narrow sectarian approach towards a more nationalistic and broadminded approach on issues which should transcend race, religion, class or political differences to create greater national unity.

The two developments are:

  • The announcement by the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim that all parliamentary constituencies in the country will receive RM30,000 each for activities to celebrate the country’s 50th years of independence;
  • The directive by the Minister for Energy, Water and Communications Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Chairman Dr. Halim Shafie to withdraw his letter barring private television stations from broadcasting speeches by members of the opposition.

It will be very sad if on the nation’s half-a-century nationhood, Malaysian public life is still moored in narrow sectarian divisions on every issue including those which must transcend race, religion, class or partisan politics.

Both Rais and Keng Yaik are to be commended for showing that they are prepared to make a beginning to take a Malaysian nationalistic approach rather than narrow sectarian one, and to show that there are issues where all can come together as Malaysians. Continue reading “Two greater maturity developments on occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary most welcome”

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Pak Lah rejects 8-year press freedom memo by 1,000 journalists?

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The speech by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to the Mass Media Conference 2007 last Friday is more significant for what he omitted than what he said.

Eight years ago, when he was first appointed Home Minister, some 600 journalists in Malaysia which in the subsequent year grew to over 1,000 journalists, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3 presented a memorandum to him calling for the repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act and other repressive laws fettering the development of a free and responsible press.

Abdullah had given a solemn undertaking to the Malaysian journalists that he would give their memorandum serious consideration.

Eight years have passed and Abdullah has still to respond directly to the 1999 memorandum on press freedom which has the support of over 1,000 journalists.

The Mass Media Conference 2007 on Friday is most disturbing for more reasons than one. In particular, the conference was organized by the Internal Security Ministry which seems to reflect an increasingly intrusive and invasive government role in the sphere of mass media.

In his eight years first as Home Minister and later Internal Security Minister with direct responsibility over the media, the arsenal of repressive instruments and laws fettering media freedom had been left intact, whether Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Official Secrets Act, the Sedition Act, the Internal Security Act or the Police Act.

At any time, these repressive instruments and laws could be resorted to and re-activated. There has been no move whatsoever towards new legislation to create an environment which fosters greater openness, accountability and transparency like the Freedom of Information Act and Whistleblowers Protection Act. Continue reading “Pak Lah rejects 8-year press freedom memo by 1,000 journalists?”

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Media blackout/self-censorship under Abdullah as bad or even worse than under Mahathir

The media blackout or self-censorship of unpleasant or unfavourable news under the Abdullah administration is getting as bad or even worse than the 22-year Mahathir premiership.

The latest example is the blackout in the local media of a survey by the Singapore American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) released on Friday that executives of United States companies in Southeast Asia say corruption is a “major impediment” to doing business in five countries in the region, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Singapore was the only country in the survey where corruption was not considered a major issue.

The lack of predictability and stability in government regulations were also major concerns for American companies doing business in ASEAN countries. Continue reading “Media blackout/self-censorship under Abdullah as bad or even worse than under Mahathir”