press freedom in m’sia going to the dogs

yep, righto!.. because it has plunged not 5, not 10, not 23 but 32 notches down from last year’s index of 92.

this came from reporters without borders‘ (RSF) world press freedom index 2007. you will be able to see the full list of all countries under the index at it’s website or, you can download the pdf format.

Reporters Without Borders compiled this index by sending a questionnaire to the 15 freedom of expression organisations throughout the world that are its partners, to its network of 130 correspondents, and to journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It contained 50 questions about press freedom in their countries. The index covers 169 nations. Other countries were not included because of lack of data.

you know, one of the reason RSF gave for the low ratings had to do with bloggers! according to malaysiakini:

RSF cited the “serious, repeated violations of the free flow of online news and information” as its reason for giving a low rating to countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Egypt.

It explained that the violations included arrests of bloggers and closure of – or difficulty in accessing – news websites in these countries.

yes, i’m sure we still remember the arrest of nathaniel tan and police  questioning of raja petra.

Commenting on Malaysia’s ranking, Writers Alliance for Media Independence (Wami) spokesperson Wong Chin Huat said the fall should serve as a wake-up call for the nation and the government.

Wong said the period covered by the index – from Sept 1 last year to Sept 1, 2007 and which coincided with the nation’s 50th anniversary of independence, shows how low the country has sunk after half a century.

“The harassment of web activists and cyber-dissidents – from Raja Petra Kamarudin, Nathaniel Tan to Namewee (photo) – indicates the growing intolerance of (Prime Minister) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s government,” he said in an e-mail communique.

wong also mentioned about the suspension of tamil daily, makkal osai.

transparency international-malaysia president ramon navaratnam, also mentioned it has to do with bloggers:

He said this could be due to contradictions between the government’s pledge towards greater openness and its actions against the mass media and bloggers.

“This gap can only be closed with the improvement of the delivery system,” he said.

and while wong calls on the public to send a clear message to the government and politicians that we want freedom of information and of expression. ramon called on the government to ensure more transparency in its administration and enact a freedom of information (FOI) law – a call that has been persistently made by civil society and journalism groups, as well as political parties.

“The FOI law is important and the press should be encourage to publish more freely. What comes out in Malaysiakini does not necessarily come out in the mainstream press and this is the contradiction which international observers will take into account when considering the degree of press freedom,” he said.

gee, i wonder if our government will heed all the calling. first of all, will the govt. bother with RSF’s index ranking? RSF is from paris. the govt might go ‘swim n the river nile’ again (that means in denial mode lah) and accused RSF of not knowing what they are doing, or being a ‘foreigner from the west’ out to demonise malaysia, that’s why the low ranking.

note: diagram and all quotes (except first) taken from malaysiakini. see also a good write-up from jeff ooi.