The Reporters Without Borders or better known as RSF functions to provide information on media freedom worldwide. They are the most notable for publishing the World Press Freedom Index of 180 countries every year. Recently, the announcement that they have made shows Malaysia has plunged 18 places in Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom ranking for the year 2021. Ranked in 119th place now, Malaysia is sandwiched between the Republic of Congo and also Nigeria.
According to RSF in an analysis attached to the ranking, “Its astonishing 18-place fall, the biggest of any country in the index, is directly linked to the formation of a new coalition government in March 2020”. They mentioned that the drop in ranking is due to a ‘draconian legislative arsenal’ that works to suppress the freedom of media.
The arsenal is the 1948 Sedition Act, the 1972 Official Secrets Act, and the 1998 Communications and Multimedia Act. The website stated that these laws enable authorities ‘strict control over the distribution of the publication licenses and power over journalists’.
The new government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, in turn, imposed a decree against ‘fake news’ that the watchdog said enables the authorities ‘to impose their own version of the truth’. The ordinance, which took effect in March amid the country’s coronavirus state of emergency, makes it illegal to publish inaccurate information about the pandemic punishable with fines and jail time. The government contends that this is necessary to combat misinformation, but the move drew strong criticism from rights groups and opposition politicians.
Sources: RSF