Press Statement by Member of Parliament Klang Charles Santiago in Klang on 17^th Mac 2010

I strongly condemn the Home Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, for sending a show cause letter to China Press over a news report relating to the impending resignation of the IGP  on 13th March, 2010.

Hishammudin immediately denied the report but made a dramatic U-turn and said that the IGP, Musa Hassan, would be replaced. This reaction came merely two days after the news report was published.

China Press, clearly, has done a scoop. In a knee-jerk reaction, the government is targeting the newspaper and harassing its editor.

Monitoring this chain of events, the first issue that comes to mind is the racially-inciting statements and editorials published by Utusan Malaysia.  The broadsheet daily went scot-free after carrying articles which had the potential of triggering a racial strife in multi-racial Malaysia.

Despite calls for a free media, the government is still peddling its rhetoric around the need to monitor the contents of newspapers, television, alternative media and the blogs.

Hishammuddin’s warning reminds us that the media is tightly controlled by the Home Ministry as it requires an annual renewal of their publishing licenses. The Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984 (PPPA) is also well-designed for an authoritarian government to limit the public sphere and curb freedom of expression.

A free media is the essence of a modern democratic system that cannot be compromised. However, the continued intimidation of the media allows the ruling National Front coalition government to intervene into the day-to-day operations of the press and also ensure minimal avenue for opposition voice.

This has led to self-censorship and the victims of this high-handed tactic are the people whose right to information has been deprived and manipulated by Barisan Nasional.

Since Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak declared his KPIs and NKRAs in July 2009, the people and civil society have been questioning him about indicators to measure democracy and freedom in the country.

Najib must remember that the political tsunami of March 8, 2008 is not only about mismanagement, corruption, inflation and deteriorating ethnic relationship in Malaysia.

The people made it clear that they want greater democratic space and freedom of expression and assembly which were absent during the past 53 years under the BN regime.

After the last general election, this no longer seems like an outlandish demand. Malaysians want a vibrant political system.  They now hold the government accountable to comply to every term in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations including freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association.

I, therefore, call upon the Home Minister to immediately withdraw the show cause letter sent to China Press and abolish the annual publishing permit requirement to guarantee the people a free press.

Charles Santiago

Member of Parliament, Klang.

016 626 7797

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巴生国会议员查尔斯圣地亚哥文告，2010年3月17日

撤销中国报解释信和停止恐吓媒体

我强烈谴责内政部长希山慕丁向中国报发出解释信，要求中国报解释关于全国总警长辞职的报道。希山慕丁虽然马上否认该报道，但却在不到两天的时间来个大转弯，改口说总警长慕沙哈山将被取代。

中国报显然已抢先报道，政府的反应是反射性地针对中国报和骚扰它的编辑。

事发后马来西亚前锋报发出了几篇煽动种族情绪的报道和社论。这份日报在发表了可能导致种族冲突的文章后却安然无事。

政府无视民间呼唤媒体自由的声音，反而不断述说监督报纸、电视、替代媒体和部落格内容的重要性。

希山慕丁打压中国报的举动提醒我们，国内的媒体依然牢牢被内政部控制，所有印刷媒体仍需每年向内政部更新印刷准证。1984年印刷与出版法令是经过精心设计，让威权政府能恣意压制公共空间，将异议者在主流媒体上消音。

自由的媒体是民主制度不能妥协的基本条件。国阵政府持续恐吓媒体，干预媒体的日常作业，打压反对阵营的新闻，这些做法导致新闻编辑在编采作业中自我审查。而人民是国阵的高压手段的最大受害者，他们被剥夺了知情权，只能接收被操纵审查后的资讯。

自从首相纳吉在去年7月宣布他的关键绩效指标和国家关键成效领域后，人民和公民社会不断追问纳吉，评估国内民主和自由的指标在哪？

纳吉必须紧记2008年3月8日的政治海啸之所以对国阵造成重创，不仅仅是因为人民对国阵政府的管理失当、贪污、破坏族群关系和导致高通膨的政策感到极度失望。人民也通过选票告诉国阵，他们追求更大的民主空间、表达和集会的自由，这些在过去53年的国阵政府统治下都付之厥如。

2008年大选后，这些诉求不再是奇怪的要求。大马人需要一个生气蓬勃的政治制度。人民要求政府遵循联合国的《公民权利与政治权利国际公约》，保障人民的表达自由、集会自由与结社自由的权利。

因此，我促请内政部长即刻撤销针对中国报的解释信，废除印刷媒体每年更新准证的条例，还人民自由与独立的媒体。

查尔斯圣地亚哥

巴生区国会议员

016 626 7797