2 million bloggers proof of media freedom in country

The existence of two million bloggers in Malaysia shows that the mass media in the country are free to publish their views and critiCIsms, the Dewan Rakyat was told on Thursday, June 17.

Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said with the development of information technology, the government had never denied any party the opportunity to speak up and give its views.

"We can see now that the mass media, especially the alternative media, are flourishing with the existence of the broadband service.

"It is reported that there are about two million bloggers in the country who are free to report their views and this reflects the freedom of the media in this country," he said in reply to Teng Boon Soon (BN-Tebrau) in the Dewan Rakyat.

Teng wanted to know whether freedom of the mass media in the country was restricted as contained in a report by Freedom House, a nongovernmental organisation based in Washington, entitled "Malaysia Press Still Not Free".

Dr Rais said Malaysia had 76 dailies run by various parties including opposition newspapers like Rocket, Suara Keadilan and Harakah, 151 satellite television channels, nine free-to-air television channels and 53 radio stations.

"This does not include Internet Protocol Television which will soon be available to the people with the existence of the broadband service," he said.

All these showed that the mass media in the country were not restricted as alleged by Freedom House and it was just an arm-chair report, he said.

However, he said, media practitioners must still ensure that the contents that they wanted to print conformed with the laws and ethics set by the government because freedom of the media differed according to the host country.

"The media, as a mass communication tool, whether electronic of print, do not have absolute freedom but are subjected to the ethics, rules and laws of the host country.

"All broadcasting bodies, both government-owned and private, must play their role in ensuring that the contents of their reports abide by the law in helping to create a caring and responsible society," he said. — Bernama

Written by Bernama