KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — The government is ready to provide a more open space for media freedom, including considering a review of related laws, in line with the country’s maturity, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
However, he said the freedom is not absolute, to prevent the spread of defamation and any form of extreme provocation that touches on racial and religious sensitivities.
“I agree that we should give freedom because the country is maturing. Now that the country is independent, free, so we must give space... The country must progress with the passage of time.
“We must give a more open space, people can criticise, can give their views, but there must also be a space where the confusion or the excesses are also corrected,” he said at the Meet Anwar dialogue session at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) here today.
He said further discussions would be held with Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil to study the proposal for a review of related laws.
Anwar said this in response to a student’s question about the government’s willingness to review or repeal existing media laws to avoid overlapping regulations, thus strengthening the role of the Malaysian Media Council.
According to him, the previous government had agreed in principle to strengthen journalism professionalism through the establishment of the council as a self-regulatory body.
Earlier, the prime minister in his speech called on the younger generation to reject racial and religious sentiments to ensure the country’s stability and peace.
He said the younger generation has a major role in determining the direction of the country by choosing the path of unity over division.
He said future leaders must dare to make the right decisions for the national interest even if sometimes the actions are unpopular or invite strong criticism from opponents.
Also present at the ceremony were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh, and Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming.
Also present were TARC Education Foundation board of trustees chairman Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, who is also Ayer Hitam MP, the university’s top management as well as more than 1,600 students and university staff.
At the same ceremony, Anwar presented a RM40 million cheque to TAR UMT as a management expenditure grant.
