Govt-issued media cards should go, says NGO
Published on: Saturday, March 09, 2024
By:
FMT, Ameera Huda
A media-rights group, CIJ, says government-issued media cards can be used as a tool against the media by restricting access. (Bernama pic)
Kuala Lumpur: The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) has called for government-issued media accreditation cards to be phased out, saying the cards act as tools for censorship and restriction of media freedom.
CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu said the cards provide the government with the power to restrict access to formal events, such as meetings of Parliament and ministerial press conferences.
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“It cannot be used as a tool to restrict access. The government really needs to do more to enable a robust environment for the media to function,” she told FMT.
She said media cards also create a culture of fear among journalists because there is the risk the government will revoke accreditation if it does not like the coverage of its activities or if reporters fail to comply with the government-mandated code of ethics.
Wathshlah said examples should be taken from countries like Indonesia, which she said have phased out media cards, while having a press law that protects the rights of the media.
Wathshlah said no such law exists in Malaysia; instead, there is a raft of legislation in place to restrict the media, such as the Official Secrets Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Sedition Act 1948 as examples.
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“We need the government to think about reform in a broader way. It must be about protecting media freedom because by doing this, you are actually upholding fundamental rights of the public to access diverse forms of opinions and information,” she said.
Gerakan Media Merdeka spokesman Radzi Razak said media accreditation could take various forms such as company-issued cards. However, accreditation should be regulated by a media council run by media personnel and its stakeholders, including journalists, editors, media workers, owners and civil society.
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“It is the norm for countries with a media council to have a hand in media accreditation to uphold the standards of journalism in the country,” he said. He said media accreditation in countries regulated by their respective governments is usually open to abuse of power.
On Tuesday, Malaysiakini reported that the government was shortening the validity of new media cards for journalists from online platforms. A later report quoted the information department as saying that it was “reviewing the standard operating procedures for issuing media cards”.
Earlier today, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said these restrictions will not affect mature press outlets.
A statement was later released by the information department, confirming that the shorter six-month validity period for media cards will only apply to journalists working for online news outlets that have just recently registered with the department.
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