MAY 16 — Marina Mahathir, one of our nation’s most inspiring figures,
recently wrote how her article in The Star was spiked for fear of
incurring the wrath of the powers that be.
As a columnist for the same newspaper myself, I understand Marina’s angst.
Recently, I submitted an article about democracy in Myanmar. It ran
on Monday, May 7. One line was, however, deleted. In referring to Prime
Minister Najib Razak’s promise to support the transformation process in
that country, I said, “We may not have much to teach them about
democracy but we can help in other ways.”
It seemed such a small thing but even such references are now deemed too sensitive.
I thought it was really ironic that here I was writing about
democracy in Myanmar, long considered a dictatorship, while being
censored in a country that is assumed to be a democracy.
The last article I wrote in response to bizarre allegations in the
national press that American and Zionist groups were plotting regime
change in Malaysia was spiked with no explanations given.
It seems newspaper editors in Malaysia, at least the ones who don’t
behave as government servants, have to constantly play by ear, shutting
down criticism when the government is nervous and allowing some measure
of it at other times.
Commentators, for their part, quickly learn that it is prudent to
write about developments in faraway places than to touch on the issues
that really matter at home. And so we wax eloquent on why Nicolas
Sarkozy lost the elections or why Barack Obama supports gay marriage
instead of the beaten and bloodied demonstrators on the streets of our
capital. It’s the journalistic equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome
burns.
Having been brought up on the notion that some issues, particularly
those relating to race and religion, are “sensitive” issues, we came to
accept a measure of state censorship. There are signs, however, that
things are changing. People are less willing to accept such censorship
today, particularly as the so-called “sensitive” list has been expanded
to include other national issues.
Furthermore, it is quite obvious that the mainstream media has become
far too one-sided for the liking of most Malaysians. Perhaps that may
account for the gradual decline of newspaper sales in the country.
Our prime minister recently introduced legislation amending the
Printing Presses and Publications Act and other repressive laws. He
promised that it would lead to greater freedom, including press freedom.
However, it appears that while Parliament may have changed the letter
of the law, the spirit of control behind it has survived intact. In
quiet and hidden ways, the press continues to be subjected to
manipulation and harassment in an effort to drown out dissenting
opinions and differing views.
A culture of self-censorship has also emerged where the press learns
to anticipate the reaction of the powers that be and acts accordingly.
When the press ceases to write “without fear or favour,” to use the
title of the late Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon’s column in The Star, we
have truly lost one of the essentials of our democracy.
History tells us that without a free press, truth dies and the lie
prevails while mismanagement, corruption and the abuse of power fester
in the dark with terrible consequences. As well, it creates an unhealthy
environment where rumours and gossip quickly become fact.
Just these past few weeks we have seen how one of the most
significant events in our country’s history has been reframed and recast
as a communist-inspired coup attempt, as nothing more than mass
hooliganism, as something contrary to our religious values.
What about the other side of the story or the personal narratives and
firsthand accounts of hundreds of ordinary citizens who were there that
day? Is there no space in our national newspapers for their story?
Journalists have a responsibility to capture such events in all its
dimensions to help the public understand what took place. If they do
not, they will soon find themselves irrelevant to the national
conversation on these issues.
History also teaches us that to sustain itself, repression and
control, by its very nature, must keep on expanding to be effective.
Already we are seeing signs of censorship creep and manipulation — BBC
and al Jazeera newscasts edited and an Australian senator’s remarks
blatantly distorted.
And then there’re the shocking remarks by our minister of Home
Affairs that it is standard operating procedure for the police to smash
cameras and harass journalists who cover such public gatherings!
How long will it be before all criticism of government becomes illegal and treasonous?
It is tempting, of course, to blame the editors and journalists for not standing up to censorship but that misses the point.
I have met a number of journalists and editors, including from The
Star, and I know them to be honourable men and women who have dedicated
their lives to their profession. You cannot be committed to journalism,
as they are, and not yearn for the freedom to write, to explore issues,
to investigate a lead no matter where it goes. My sense is that they
deeply resent the censorship and the constant harassment.
They are forced to make choices that they shouldn’t have to make: To
yield in some areas in order to keep at least a modicum of free
expression alive in other areas and to compromise or close, to give up
or somehow keep hope alive.
The real focus of our indignation should instead be the system of
control and manipulation that makes good men and women bow their knee to
what their hearts deny, that forces them to choose between their
principles and their livelihood, between what they know to be right and
the wrong they are often compelled to accept.
It is no secret that our nation now faces many critical challenges;
press freedom is one of them. I hope that the voices clamouring for this
fundamental right will grow louder in the days ahead. The future of our
democracy depends upon it.
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free… it expects what
never was and never will be. The People cannot be safe without
information. When the press is free… all is safe.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
* Dennis Ignatius is a retired Malaysian diplomat
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