(RSF/IFEX) – In a 22 June 1999 letter sent to Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad, RSF protested his statements against Western media which, he said, “should be held responsible for their misreporting.” RSF noted that it “has known for a long time the meaning of press ‘responsibility’, according to the Malaysian authorities: press reports have to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a 22 June 1999 letter sent to Prime Minister Mahatir
Mohamad, RSF protested his statements against Western media which, he said,
“should be held responsible for their misreporting.” RSF noted that it “has
known for a long time the meaning of press ‘responsibility’, according to
the Malaysian authorities: press reports have to be in accordance with the
government’s view.” RSF asked Mohamad “to ensure that foreign correspondents
can report on the political situation without fear of being tried or
expelled when they express different views from those of the government.”
**Updates IFEX alert of 5 May 1999**
According to RSF’s information, on 22 June, Prime Minister Mohamad declared
that Western media should be punished for misreporting events surrounding
the September 1998 arrest and dismissal of his deputy prime minister.
Associated Press quoted the Malaysian prime minister, referring to Western
media: “If their distorted and inaccurate news results in wrong decisions
being made and losses incurred due to missed opportunities, shouldn’t the
news agencies, the media, be held responsible?” At the beginning of May,
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi declared that “press freedom
must have limits.” Furthermore, on several occasions since the beginning of
former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s trial, foreign journalists have
been barred from press conferences or denied official statements.
