Banning newspapers – a sign of cowardice

It is pathetic when a government, embarrassed by a stinging criticism of its governance, decides to silence its detractors by punishing its critics.

The government of Malaysia does not like to be brought to account or to be shown that it practices double standards.

The authorities find the truth inconvenient, but banning a publication is a bullying tactic to show publications and individuals, the power it (the government) wields; it is also an act of extreme cowardice.

A free press which probes, scrutinises and questions ministers, senior politicians and heads of the civil service, is trying to bring the government to account.

This government arbitrarily uses the Sedition Act to silence members of the Opposition and certain non-government organisations (NGOs). Gagging the press is another of its dirty tricks.

Several Utusan Malaysia articles written by its editors or writers like Ridhuan Tee should have been banned on the strength of racist content, yet these publications, escape censure.

When Ibrahim Ali urged people to burn the bible, why was he not charged with sedition?

Unsurprisingly, news reports which raised legitimate concerns of the rakyat, such as the abuse of taxpayers’ money, have irked the authorities.

The selective treatment against writers who are only doing their job does not demonstrate the action of a government which acts on behalf of the people.

A free press can make life uncomfortable for the government, because it will demand answers to the questions which ordinary members of the rakyat has thought about, but does not dare voice out.

Think of the free press as a guardian which protects the rights of the citizens, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. The free press is not for the advantage of the journalists. It is for the benefit of the rakyat.

The rakyat has suffered decades of cover-ups by incompetent politicians. By robbing the country of its wealth, these corrupt politicians, civil servants and cronies have denied the most needy sections of society the necessary funding to lift them out of poverty.

If these cover-ups are allowed to continue unabated, the middle-classes will eventually feel the pinch and the country will come close to ruin.

When the weekly publication, The Heat was indefinitely suspended last week, it was widely believed that the government reacted to an article which criticised the prime minister’s failure to curtail the excessive spending of those closest to him.

Days later, the government refuted this claim and said that the ban was because The Heat had violated the terms of its printing permit conditions and should have operated as a business magazine rather than a weekly current affairs publication.

The public may never know the true reasons for the suspension but the Home Ministry’s move to ban The Heat, backfired. The publicity worked in favour of the banned publication and weeks after its relatively unassuming entry into the Malaysian media, people are eager to get their hands on copies of The Heat.

Nothing works better than the free publicity given by an inept minister.

The ban has demonstrated the failings of this government; it lacks confidence in its own policies and it does not practice the principles of equality before the law.

Gagging the press is another way of saying that the government is unable to make its own politicians and civil servants behave as law-abiding citizens.

It shows that the government lacks the ability to enforce the laws. It has proven that the government is unable to administer justice properly and fairly.

No individual or publication should be bullied or sidelined for speaking out. If not for the free press, how will the rakyat raise concerns about conditions at work, or in society?

The majority of journalists are not troublemakers. There are some exceptions, like senior editors of certain mainstream papers who pander to their political masters and spin for them.

There are unscrupulous journalists who like to be rewarded with free overseas trips to cover political events, or those who make a habit of writing glowing articles to promote business or political clients.

The country has some of the most restrictive media laws anywhere in the world and apart from political interference, the ordinary journalist may be bound by gagging orders, as well as owners of the papers who want to control opinion. Advertisers may also exert a certain degree of influence, because withdrawal of their revenue, will affect the publication.

The rakyat needs to help protect press freedom. They need to know that politicians should not be allowed to issue threats or make rules to govern the press, because these politicians are the ones who will ultimately change the rules, to suit themselves.

In 2011, soon after the call for free, clean and fair elections by Bersih, members of the Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) were held for a month, wrongfully accused of trying to overthrow the Agong, and charged with being communists, all because Che Guevera T-shirts were found amongst their belongings. The charges were later dropped.

The IGP Khalid Abu Bakar is allegedly attempting to scare New Year’s eve revellers into thinking that going to Dataran Merdeka will be seen as an attempt to topple the government.

This just shows that he lacks respect for the rakyat and the government. He is so devious that he fails to see that the rakyat just wish to celebrate the New Year and forget the misery that they suffer in a Malaysia that is disintegrating before their very eyes.

Only a free press can expose the stupidity of incompetent members of the government and bring them to account.

Happy New Year.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist