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| Have road map for press freedom, repeal PPPA |
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| Monday, 21 April 2008 | |
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The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) urges the Minister of Home Affairs, Syed Hamid Albar to give a more concrete commitment to press freedom, which must include significant reform to the administrative powers of the Minister and to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA). The Minister's suggestion to do away with the annual renewal of license will have minimum impact if the press is still beholden to the discretionary powers of the Minister to revoke or suspend the printing license in the absence of a judicial review.
The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) urges the Minister of Home Affairs, Syed Hamid Albar to give a more concrete commitment to press freedom, which must include significant reform to the administrative powers of the Minister and to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA). The Minister's suggestion to do away with the annual renewal of license will have minimum impact if the press is still beholden to the discretionary powers of the Minister to revoke or suspend the printing license in the absence of a judicial review. On April 20, Syed Hamid Albar said in an interview that he intended to abolish the requirement for publications to renew their licenses yearly, in order to allow for more press freedom. CIJ would like to point out that the retention of the Minister's power to revoke the license means the press will still have to toe the government's line in most issues. Abolishing the annual requirement does not limit the absolute power that remains the shackle on the press, unless judicial review is reinstated in the PPPA to allow for courts to decide on disputes over the Minister's decision. CIJ is also worried that the Minister's announcement is intended to win popular support as it comes days after Tamil daily Makkal Osai was refused a permit for 2008 and when the fate of Oriental News Daily is still uncertain. Both newspapers are know to be relatively more outspoken than their competitors. It is only right for the Minister to start his press freedom campaign by granting the permits for the two papers. We also note that it is time to review the guidelines that are attached to the permit conditions for the newspapers as we believe this is also a form of control over the media. The Minister therefore must look into the reform of the guidelines if he truly wishes to allow more press freedom. We call for consistency when the Minister uses as a sign of reform, his approval for the opposition party paper Suara Keadilan's permit. While the Minister's statement is encouraging, we hope that it is the start of more commitments to reform in a broader sense. We therefore call for the following to be implemented;
The Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia (CIJ) aspires for a society that is democratic, just and free, where all people enjoy free media and the freedom to express, seek, and impart information. |
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