Claire, kinda random ung pagtype ko ng paragraphs. Pag walang year, it means present un. Intersperse these sa report wherever u deem them necessary. Mwah.

When the Japanese took over from 1942 to 1945, every media program had to have the elements of praise and support for the ruling power and its emperor. (from “Malaysia,” Dynamics of Nation Building by Vincent Lowe)

Malaysians were given a new dose of new programs which focused on physical exercises and learning the Japanese language

Prior censorship continued to be strictly enforced and tuning in to outside broadcasts, especially those coming from the BBC, was tantamount to a death penalty

After the war, most of the media activities centered on rehabilitating the country and preparing it for self-rule.

In 1948, broadcasting and print facilities introduced earlier by the British were utilized for information campaigns targeted at quelling communist activieties and mobilizing the masses for political participation

By the time Malaysia gained independence from the British in 1957, the communication structures that were prevalent and state-controlled still focused on eradicationg Communist insurgency and fostering political integration among the reaces. Along with the development of mass media facilities, telephone, telegraphic, postal and railway systems were established. State institutions which handled broadcasting and information services were combined to form the Ministry of Information.

In 1957, urban areas which were centers of commerece and trade dugring and after the British rule als became originating points of media messages. Televeision was introduced in 1963 and color transmission began in 1978. in 1970, direct satellite transmission f broadcast signals from other parts of the world was made possible with the inauguration of the first satellite earth station in Malaysia.

As of 1985, a total of 76 newspapers were being published in Malaysia. 14 in Malay, 18 in English, 35 in Chinese and the rest in Tamil, Punjabi and other dialects. 2 newspapers used a mixture of Englush, Malay and Kadazan.

Currently, most of the printing presses are privately-owned

Daily sales of newspapers in Peninsular Malaysia rose from 1.44 miliion copies in 1977 to 2.22 millionin 1982. .

The national news agency, Bernama, is the country’s sole news agency whose functions are to receive and distribute foreign news in Malaysia

Under Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM), a government body, are two network television stations and five domestic radio networks with regional relay stations.

sustained efforts of the government in tuning the mass media systems for the attainment of national development goals.

Weaknesses: communication gap between the government and the citizens, credibility of message facilitators and message content, insufficient research and planning, and lack of sufficient manpower resources.

Government censorship: while the various mass media continue to be used by the government for information and public relation purposes, there is an observable difference on the broadcast time for dissenting views

Newspaper companies, although privately-owned, have been known to be controlled by the leading pro-government political parties. Constant pressures regarding annual licensing of media facilities are employed. Moreover, reporters and editors who seek to express anti-government views are careful not to be branded as seditious or detained without trial.

In the 1970s, certain media content that do not conform to Malaysian values are not made available to the public. For example, the protraal of extramartical affairs and sexual deviance are deleted from media materials.

MASS MEDIA LAWS AND REGULATIONS IN MALAYSIA

Under two broad heads:
1. Laws that regulate access to information
2. laws that impose restraints on publication of information

Official Secrets Act fall on both categories
Present conditions:


PM Mahathir has run a public foreign-media bashing campaign for several years, blaming them obliquely for most of Malaysia's problems from running sensational reports on Malaysian demonstrations, to supporting government opponents and being controlled by foreign elements with hidden agendas to derail Malaysia's economic development

Now he has called for the setting up of an "Asian" media to "counter slants and distorted reporting of certain western media".

foreign media reporting of events in Malaysia in the past few years has been generally poor, and characterised by naivete and sensationalism

The Economist for example has continually predicted economic problems ahead for Malaysia, very few of which materialised in the time scale they predicted at least

Editors receive daily calls from government ministers and minders, checking on the political correctness of their reports. Opposition spokesmen have been denied reasonable access to the electronic and print media

Papers have reported the poor ratings of the objectivity of other country's newspapers by free press associations

Many people have ceased buying the New Straits Times and the Sun because of lack of anything new and significant news

Mahathir's sacking of the editors of two leading UMNO Malay papers just before Anwar's sacking on the basis of their negative reporting of the opening of the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport, sent a very strong message to Malaysian journos

the Malaysian Press is only rivaled by the Chinese People's Daily for their "political correctness".
______________________________________
In Malaysia, PM Mahathir has run a public foreign-media bashing campaign for several years, blaming them obliquely for most of Malaysia's problems from running sensational reports on Malaysian demonstrations, to supporting government opponents and being controlled by foreign elements with hidden agendas to derail Malaysia's economic development. Now he has called for the setting up of an "Asian" media to "counter slants and distorted reporting of certain western media". He said "the major concern among East Asian nations has been the slanted and distorted reporting of global events to Asian audiences and similar reporting of Asia to other parts of the world."
Certainly foreign media reporting of events in Malaysia in the past few years has been generally poor, and characterised by naivete and sensationalism. Even well respected sources such as the Economist and the BBC have run reports that were just clearly incorrect and showed a surprising lack of depth and serious analysis. Cable television such as CNN and CNBC, despite their on the ground presence in the region have made mistakes. The Economist for example has continually predicted economic problems ahead for Malaysia, very few of which materialised in the time scale they predicted at least. During significant points in the Anwar trial and lead-up, the BBC reported a Kuala Lumpur city in chaos with anti-government riots "spanning the city", while those actually in the city were lounging around sipping Starbuck's coffee, and driving around in their Protons wondering where all the excitement was located. Business Week proclaimed Anwar "Asian of the Year" late last year, suggesting that the Anwar case had changed the nature of Malaysian politics forever. Almost a year later, the most significant contribution of the Anwar/Mahathir shoot out was to teach Malaysians what happens to people who buck the system. The Chinese, by and large refugees from a homeland where revolutionary politics forced their migration to Malaysia waited to see who was going to win, and pragmatically fell in behind the winner. The majority Malays, non-confrontational in nature and brought up in a culture where questioning authority is almost taboo, in the end were convinced more by the ruling government's view rather than those of the recalcitrant and prodigal son. And the foreign press too has been guilty of xenophobia and viewing much of Asian affairs using Western models.
However, if Dr Mahathir has in mind the Malaysian local media as a model for this "Asian media", it will be an "Asian media" controlled by the ruling élites, and acting as their personal PR agencies. For that is, indeed, what the Malaysian mainstream media is now. The English language press is the laughing stock of the region. Many journalists are looking for alternative career paths, who initially thought there were going to be journalists, not a PR staffer. Editors receive daily calls from government ministers and minders, checking on the political correctness of their reports. Opposition spokesmen have been denied reasonable access to the electronic and print media. The only times when opposition figures from parties such as Keadilan, PAS and the DAP get great publicity is when there is political mileage for the ruling government, such as stories relating to the finding that Anwar wasn't poisoned, defections from their parties, and the more extremist policies of the Muslim PAS party. State-run TV3 regularly ventures into sloppy attempts at editorialising, playing old clips of Anwar stating that people shouldn't demonstrate in the streets, and signing off with comments like "...but that was in another time...". Papers have reported the poor ratings of the objectivity of other country's newspapers by free press associations, only to ignore that Mahathir was denounced in the same report for his treatment of themselves. A review of the new book analyzing the Asian crisis- "The Asian Eclipse" reproduced an extract praising Mahathir for raising the respect of Malaysian people, but failed to report the main thrust of the book - namely how corruption and collusion in Asian business and politics contributed to the crisis. Many people have ceased buying the New Straits Times and the Sun, who have committed the only sin in journalism worse than bias. They are just.. well.. boring... and best suited for wrapping up your Nasi Lemak.
On the other hand the government makes great play that the Malay language PAS funded newspaper Harrakah has not been banned, despite it's anti-government pro-Anwar line, and some of the Chinese language press does present a more balanced view. However, Mahathir's sacking of the editors of two leading UMNO Malay papers just before Anwar's sacking on the basis of their negative reporting of the opening of the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport, sent a very strong message to Malaysian journos. Support the government... or else...
At the same time as the Malaysian press and media has been stymied, the media in neighbouring countries has been liberalised. In Indonesia the media is very free, a legacy of one of Habibie's reforms that he still needs to be given proper credit for. Indeed papers that were shut down by Soeharto are now printing again, despite major problems for the press in Indonesia generally including high newsprint costs. In Singapore, for a long time a lackey for the government as the Malaysian press is today, reporting has opened up in line with Singapore's increased maturity and openness to the global village. In fact the Singapore Business Times has been set to task several times recently by Malaysian government ministers for their "unfair reporting" of Malaysian politics and business. In Thailand, both Thai and English language newspapers have managed to continue "...keeping the bastards honest..." despite bumbling attempts by ex PM Chevalit to control them when he was in office, and more recent visits to one newspaper by armed minders of a minister who felt he was unfairly treated. Present PM Chuan supports a free press, though reminding them of their responsibilities, resulting in a Thai press which is a model for the rest of the region. The Filipino press, as regular readers of Clarence Henderson's Pearl of the Orient Seas will know, continues their larrikanism, again despite Erap's attempts to emulate Mahathir in recent times. The end result is that the Malaysian Press is only rivaled by the Chinese People's Daily for their "political correctness".
Information is power, as we said at the start. In societies where education systems do not encourage objective analysis and where the emphasis is on answers rather than questions, people tend to believe what they read. The source of the material is never really questioned, and if the ruling elite controls the information, control of power follows. That is one reason why the Internet is a threat to authoritarian regimes. The danger to the ruling elite is people may read opinions or reports counter to their interests,.. and believe them, regardless of their source or substance. While Singapore has largely accepted this, and countered anti-Singapore material on the Internet by producing their own, Malaysia's more negative strategy is to ridicule and denounce.
Singapore's rulers have recognized the ability of their own people to tell the good from the bad. How long before Malaysia gives their people the same compliment? ..or do the Malaysian elite still feel that Malaysian's are children?
In a period of only 3 months, 4 journalists from Malaysia's press have told the Rat that they feel embarrassed to say they are journalists at private functions. Two of these have already left the profession. As in Ginsberg's "Howl", Malaysia is set to lose the brightest of their generation.
Is this what Mahathir aspires to as an "Asian Press"? Granted the sins of the foreign press have been significant, but they are monumentally surpassed by Mahathir's Press, rather than the Malaysian press they really should be. It is doubtful whether many of Mahathir's mates in East Asia will support such an idea. There are other, more local ways, to ensure the Asian voice is heard... We already know that the diversity of this region makes generalisations about common Asian values and culture a dangerous stomping ground. And better that it be the voice of the people rather than the voice of the ruling élites.
And as far as bias and distortion goes, let Mahathir clean up his own back yard first...

Dato' Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: The Malaysian Press Is Servile

· To: Sang Kancil
· Subject: Dato' Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: The Malaysian Press Is Servile
· From: "M.G.G. Pillai"
· Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 10:02:11 +0800 (MYT)
· cc: SK
· Delivered-To: mailing list sangkancil@lists.malaysia.net
· Mailing-List: contact sangkancil-help@malaysia.net; run by ezmlm

The deputy prime minister, Dato' Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, confirmed last
night (18 March 00) what one has known for years: the Malaysian Press
is servile. A government that could not accept criticism would lose
touch with reality. So, he wants the media to live up to its "heavy"
responsibility to bring "messages from the people to the attention of
the authorities". Which no doubt is why political magazines and
newspapers, like Harakah and Rocket, cannot be sold other than to party
members: they do not voice the people's discontent; that privilege, in
the deputy prime minister's estimation, is confined to the mainstream
media. The media, he intones portentiously, "should always act as a
bridge between the people and the government, playing a role that
upholds journalistic values". When they do, as Dato' Abdul Kadir Jasin
of the New Straits Times, he is removed so fast that his columns still
appear long after he has gone. Criticism is welcome but woe betide the
editor who criticises "for the sake of it", whatever that phrase means.
It must, you understand, be constructive -- like "the speech was
excellent, but the minister could have been better dressed", not that
"government has yet to build the roads it promised the village three
elections ago"? -- "to improve the situation for the country and not for
the personal interests of certain people". The government and the media
have a common aim but different role to develop a progresive and
peaceful nation. The government would not allow the media to debunk
national institutions like the judiciary, however responsible and valid
the criticisms. He even says self-censorship is a good thing, "born not
out fear but ... on the realisation that everyone had a role to play
taking into consideration the advantages and the need for moderation".
for which he is eternally grateful to the Malaysian media. All in all,
a woolly, ill-thought, confused speech to tell the media that it had
better buck up and face the fate of Dato' Kadir Jasin or worse.

The New Straits Times devoted a whole page to his confused
rantings, and the prize winners for the Malaysian Press Institute awards
for 1998. Yes, 1998. But my old friend forgot one important
requirement for a believable free press: credibility. If what is
written is perceived in the public eye as not believable, the best
newspaper in the world cannot survive for long. When governing
political parties control the mainstream media, as in Malaysia, and
ensures only news favourable to the man in charge could be published,
with opposition within the party and outside be brutally suppressed or
made fun of, it does not ensure a responsibe press but a servile one.
Dato' Abdullah's comments yesterday is his ex post facto justification
for the current state of the media. It worries him. But he cannot
break away, nor would he be allowed to, the chains -- and chains it is
-- that binds what he proclaims from the rooftops is Malaysia's free
press. The Malaysian media has lost its way, like a rudderless ship in
a storm, without wireless communication, with the captain warned he
cannot steer it without orders from ashore. This cannot be overcome
with the pride of having won all the major prizes the MPI had to offer
or the special award to that great journalist, Tan Sri Melan Abdullah..

The Malaysian Press's travails has nothing to do with the Western
press, as the deputy prime minister implies. The Western press writes
for its readership back home. What they write could well be
self-serving, irrational, wrong, often written -- in our eyes -- without
understanding. But when the local media is as restrictive and not even
attempt to report what is happening, people would read the Western
press. Can you blame them? The solution to that, which the deputy
prime minister would not want to address, are newspapers that performs
its functions not as the mouthpiece of the government but of the people,
with a balance that would earn it the respect of every one. The
government encourages this reliance on the Western press. Would Dato'
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi have given that excellent interview he gave
NHK to a local television station? Would he or the Prime Minister talk
as seriously and without the normal tinge of malice to local reporters?
When the government has contempt for the local media, that redounds on
its credibility. The government views the press as its poodle. On the
other hand, the Indonesian and Thai governments talk only to the local
press, with the foreign press there under sufferance. They take the
press into their confidence, as the Malaysians do not.

The local press is in a conundrum, not knowing whom to believe and
what to report, reinforced by the deputy prime minister's speech last
night. The coming UMNO elections, with the possibility the "enemy" --
in this case, the Hermit of 33 Langkak Golf -- may challenge He Who
Thinks He Is Lord Of All He Surveys, frightens the media into
submission. Even the less controlled and far freer Chinese newspapers
and magazine grumble that their chief editor is the deputy home
minister, Dato' Ong Ka Ting. Some cabinet ministers cannot get space in
the mainstream media because they are out of odour with the leadership.
Self-preservation determines selection of news, not on relevance but to
keep their jobs. The coverage of the Anwar trial is progressively
reduced -- and whatever Dato' Seri Abdullah says -- by order from above.
The information minister insists the mainstream media shall be no more
than mouthpieces of the government. The Malaysian media has lost its
credibility, not just with the outsiders but with citizens as well. It
is not without a delightful irony that Dato' Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is
also home minister, whose ministry decides if the newspapers would be
allowed to publish next year. What frightens me about last night's
speech is the raising of the political ramparts which can guarantee an
even more servile a press than it already is. The velvet glove hid the
mailed fist -- and the press told to be on their guard if it should
ever report the Emperor wears no cloths..

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my



Malaysia / مليسيا

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Malaysia
Malaysia / مليسيا
NP Berita Harian / Berita Minggu (Kuala Lumpur) ms
AG Bernama en
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NP Guāng Huá Rìbào [Kwong Wah Yit Poh] 光华日报 zh
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NP Harian Metro (Kuala Lumpur) ms
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NP Star, The (Petaling Jaya) en
NP Sun, The (Petaling Jaya) en
NP Utusan Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) ms
NP Xīng Zhōu Rìbào [Sin Chew] 星洲日报 zh
NP Zhōngguó Bào (ChinaPress) 中國報 (Kuala Lumpur) zh


Malaysia Keeps Tight Control Over Internet Providers
By Michael Bociurkiw, in Asia Times,
24 February, 1997
Kuala Lumpur, 24 Feb. 1997 (Asia Times): In an apparent reversal of an avowed policy to allow the Internet to flourish, Malaysia...closed the door on expanding the Internet service provider (ISP) market.
Energy, Telecommunications and Posts Minister Leo Moggie, who announced the decision...Friday, said the government did not want to repeat the experience it had with the mobile telephone market, where several players had been allowed to compete for a limited customer base.
"We have to be careful as we do not want to repeat the concerns we had when there were so many communications licences given to the companies. Through that experience, we decided to approach this matter with caution," Moggie said.
Additional ISPs would not be allowed until there was evidence of more demand, he added.
Industry insiders are speculating...the freeze could only be temporary given the high increase in subscribers in Malaysia and the imminent launch of the country's much-touted information technology hub, the Multimedia Super Corridor.
Until recently, the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS) - which is under the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment - was the sole provider of Internet services in Malaysia through its Jaring network. ...late last year, the government allowed Telekom Malaysia to launch its own service, known as TMNet.
Still, in relative terms, Malaysia has among the lowest number of ISPs in Asia. Singapore has three, while Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines each have several.
Malaysia has among the highest Internet growth rates in Asia. MIMOS estimated there were more than 30,000 subscribers in early 1996, and perhaps as many as 100,000 users. By the end of 1997, the country could have as many 300,000 subscribers.
Industry sources close to TMNet say they are registering close to 300 new subscribers a day.
Another telecommunications company, Time Telecommunications, ...just introduced a high-speed leased line network, Time NetLink, which provides businesses access to the Internet. The service is limited to subscribers located in buildings with links to Time's leased lines.
Industry sources said at least one more Malaysian company was to have entered the general ISP market. A consortium between a leading network provider and a top-ranked system integrator is believed to have been next in line for an ISP licence.
Most observers agree Malaysia's Internet market requires an infusion of expertise as well as more competition. Jaring has been widely criticized for providing spotty coverage and service, and TMNet's security system has been
breached twice by a computer hacker.


Panel to screen foreign reports
from Star Malaysia
Wednesday, 19 November 1997
MALACCA: A committee has been set up to screen all foreign reports about the country which are carried via the Internet, Culture, Arts and Tourism Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Tengku Alaudin Tengku Abdul Majid said yesterday.
"The committee will browse through the Internet and read the articles on the country," he said.
Tengku Alaudin said negative articles will be extracted and discussed on a regular basis.
"We will decide on the appropriate action to correct any wrong perceptions in the reports," he told reporters after attending the 13th meeting of the Asean working group on Literary and Asean studies here.
Tengku Alaudin said the committee will submit weekly reports to the Prime Minister's Department.
He said that Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Sabbaruddin Chik and other senior officials were in London to counter negative reports about Malaysia at the World Travel Mart.
Tengku Alaudin said local media should also refrian from writing any negative reports to prevent the foreign media from picking them up and tarnishing the country's image.
]



Journalist's resignation chills media
From Hong Kong Standard
Thursday 16 July 1998
KUALA LUMPUR: The resignation of the editor of a top Malaysian newspaper group has sent a chill through the local media with speculation that more heads will roll as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad shores up his power base.
Politicians and media executives said yesterday that this week's surprise resignation of Johan Jaafar, group editor-in-chief of Utusan Melayu Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd, had sparked worries of a government clampdown on "negative" reporting by the local media.
Johan's resignation caused ripples among journalists because local newspaper editors usually rise and fall on the government's nod.
The Utusan media group is closely linked to the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party and controls several newspapers including the mass circulation Utusan Malaysia.
Some said Johan's departure indicated a move by Dr Mahathir to strengthen his power base ahead of next year's UMNO party elections.
The resignation came two weeks after Dr Mahathir criticised local media for "negative" and "sensational" reporting of problems at Kuala Lumpur's new airport which opened on 30 June.
Malaysian newspapers detailed problems at the new airport__including flight delays, missing baggage and lost cargot__for four days, before toning down their coverage.

Malaysia
When Abdullah Badawi took over from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in October 2003, Malaysia’s first change in leadership in more than two decades, he sounded themes of democracy, good governance, and human rights in his inauguration speech. The new administration, however, has yet to take significant steps toward dismantling Malaysia’s legal framework of repression. Prominent human rights concerns in Malaysia include arbitrary detention of alleged militants under the Internal Security Act (ISA); severe restrictions on media freedom; constraints on judicial independence; and abuses against refugees and migrants.


Restrictions on Media Freedom
Malaysia's media is largely devoid of serious criticism of the government. Malaysians are fed a daily dose of positive news about their government, and senior United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) politicians are unfailingly featured in the day's headlines, always shown in a positive light. The government maintains its control through a network of laws curbing free expression, as well as through direct day-to-day monitoring and control of the media. Opposition politicians and local activists have trouble getting their message out, and strong criticism of government policy almost never makes its way onto the pages of Malaysia's daily newspapers. Television and radio are even more strictly controlled.

Even internet-based news sites, able to operate more freely due to Malaysia's efforts to cast itself as a global center of cyber activity, risk censure or even closure if they step too far out of line. In January 2003, the offices of news website Malaysiakini were raided, and a number of computer processors seized. Although most of the equipment was eventually returned, Malaysiakini still operates under the threat of prosecution; the government has yet to clear it of all charges. The ability of independent media outlets like Malaysiakini to operate without restrictions in the run-up to 2004 elections, which must be called before November, will be an important barometer of press freedom.