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THE release of the World Press Freedom Index 2014 on Monday could not have come at a worse time for Malaysia.

The drop from No 145 to No 147 out of 180 countries is a damning testimony to the so-called efforts to improve the perception of limited press freedom in this country.

The two-month-long suspension of weekly The Heat for breaching conditions of its licence after it front-paged an article on the expenditure incurred by the prime minister and his family must have had a bearing on the poorer showing by Malaysia in the index.

A look at the country report that accompanies the index, which has been put together annually by Reporters Without Borders since 2002, shows that the suspension was a factor in the poor marks Malaysia received.

One is certain that Malaysia would have fared worse if the revocation of the licence of FZ Daily had come two months earlier. This is because the 2013 country report also makes a mention of the court battle initiated by the daily to challenge the home ministers decision to defer the issuance of the licence, as well as imposing conditions that we feel contravened the Printing Presses and Publications (Amendment) Act 2012.

The Edge Media Group executive chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong has given a detailed account of the authorities resistance to fz.coms efforts to go into print in his blog on Feb 8.

In its methodology in ranking countries on its press freedom index, Reporters Without Borders takes into account the transparency of government decision-making.

Many questions have been raised as to why the licence was in Tongs words approved, deferred, and now revoked and the government has not been transparent with its reasons. In fact it is unable to provide a logical reason for revoking our licence even before the first edition could hit the newsstands.

Many theories have been making their way into the rumour mill: fz.coms editorial content which is supposedly anti-establishment; the perceived close ties between people in the organisation and certain political figures; pressure from politicians on the prime minister and authorities, as well as resistance from the competition.

We are in no position to speculate, and we shouldnt, although we maintain that we remain a neutral and responsible media organisation. Only the government can provide the answer as to why issuing us a print licence causes it great discomfort.

See the article here:
Press freedom: Why does the govt keep shooting itself in the foot?