Shabery: Free press is the future
By : Nisha Sabanayagam and Farah Zamira Farush Khan
May 15, 2008
Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek (second from left) taking a tour of the New Straits Times newsroom yesterday. With him are NSTSB group editor Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun (left) and NSTP group editor-in-chief Datuk Hishamuddin Aun (second from right).
KUALA LUMPUR: Press freedom is the trend of the future as the era of a fully controlled media is no longer practical.
Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek warned, however, that press freedom did not necessarily correlate with good governance.
Speaking to reporters after visiting New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd yesterday, Shabery cited neighbouring countries which had press freedom but were mired in corruption and social problems.
“On the other hand, there is also a neighbouring country which tightly controls its press, yet is lauded for its good governance,” he said.
Still, he said, it was good to let newspapers report freely but responsibly as the people would then be able to separate the reality from illusion. He cited the live broadcast of the question-and-answer session in Parliament as enabling people to see for themselves how their MPs performed.
“There are changes in the younger generation’s way of thinking, as well as in political parties. Therefore, the old way of regulating the media in this country is no longer practical,” Shabery said, adding that calls for media freedom did not only come from the opposition but also from the younger members of the ruling Barisan Nasional.
Commenting on the recent statement by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar on reviewing the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Shabery said that such a move mirrored the desire of the younger generation.
Syed Hamid had said that licences for newspapers should only be issued once upon application and need not be renewed annually as done now.
Syed Hamid had also approved the publishing permit of Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s party newspaper last month.
In response to a question on the opposition’s request for their own radio station, Shabery said no formal application had been made.
“The opposition has not spoken about it in Parliament. I don’t think they are serious about it.”
On whether live telecast of Parliament sessions would be extended from its present 30 minutes, Shabery said it would not as MPs lacked the mentality for it, judging from their on- and off-air behaviour.
“Some MPs used the time not to discuss relevant issues but play to the gallery instead. It is not a question of half an hour, but of the government-making process.”
He said that in countries such as Taiwan and Korea, the public’s faith in Parliament had been eroded because of the antics of the MPs.
“It is up to the government to protect Parliament so that the public does not look down on it.”
He said not all democratic countries aired the full parliamentary sessions and some of those that did have regretted the move because the public do not watch the full sessions.
“Parliament sessions aren’t that interesting all the time. So it has become a waste of airtime for some countries. Think of the revenue lost in terms of advertising.”
Asked if the programme Bersemuka dengan Media aired over RTM1 would feature members of the opposition instead of just BN politicians, Shabery said this might eventually happen.
Asked if the section which featured bloggers would be extended to more than 20 minutes, Shabery said 20 minutes on prime time was “very long” for television, when responding to complaints by bloggers that it was too short for them.