SHAH ALAM, July 7 — The Communications Ministry has been tasked to examine Malaysia’s decline in the World Press Freedom Index, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The country should continue its efforts to strengthen media freedom while examining the factors contributing to its position in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) index.
“In line with our policy, we should strive to improve the World Press Freedom Index ranking published by the RSF. The government has tasked the Communications Ministry with studying the reasons for the decline.
"The index assesses various factors, including the political environment; legal framework; economic conditions; social and cultural environment; as well as safety and security," he said during the Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar added that some enforcement actions taken in Malaysia may be viewed negatively internationally due to issues related to media freedom, even though such measures may be considered necessary domestically.
The nation’s ranking should be reviewed in the wider regional context, as it still performs better than many other developing nations.
"Malaysia does not support unrestricted freedom of speech, particularly when matters involving race, religion, and royalty are concerned," he said.
The Tambun MP emphasised that legitimate criticism of the government remains permissible, but drew the line at actions involving insults, incitement, or defamatory content relating to sensitive issues and the monarchy.
“There is no country in the world that provides absolute freedom for all media to say anything they want. Journalists and media practitioners are still bound by the law.
“If there are any issues involving journalists, they should be referred to the Media Council before any action is taken," Anwar said.
Responding to Tampin MP Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa’s supplementary query on whether laws such as the Sedition Act 1948, Official Secrets Act 1972, and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 could affect media freedom, he said that such laws coexist with the responsibility of media practitioners to operate within legal boundaries.
Anwar observed that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission could request action against false content on social media platforms.
But the decision to remove the content will be up to social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook.
“It is not automatically removed because the platform has its own authority," he said.
The government remains open to reviewing concerns related to media freedom through the Malaysia Media Council, while maintaining that national laws and public sensitivities must also be respected.
Addressing allegations that the Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) logo had been used on a Facebook livestream featuring a political programme, Anwar said an investigation could be conducted to determine whether the claims are true.
“I was not aware of it, but if it did happen, we can rectify it...The only issue is the use of the RTM logo,” he said in response to Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari’s query as to whether the national public broadcast channel had been used to televise political campaigns.
