REGULATION AND CENSORSHIP

Regulation and Censorship Systems of Malaysia's Media

Regulation and Censorship Systems of Malaysia's Media

Introduction

The restricting or banning or regulating media content by the government authorities is known as censorship. Censroship in simple words acts as a filter that filter the content as per the norms, values and laws of the country to before making any content public. This study will review and discuss the censorship and regulation system of Malaysia. In fact, censorship is the element which is perceived very seriously by the Malaysian authorities, and is considered one of the major issue of media organization operating in Malaysia. This paper after reviewing the censorship laws and regulation of the country, will determine whether it conflicts to the freedom of expression or not, or to what extent it is important to maintain a censorship policy.

Discussion and Analysis

Censorship is an issue that is increasing in Malaysia as it tries to adjust to the modern knowledge-based economy. Malaysia has one of strict media censorship in the world, with nearly one hundred films banned in this decade, solely on the grounds of upholding morality. Internet however is still not limited in line with upholding civil liberties and preserves democratic space (Abbott, 2004). In 2010, Malaysia was ranked 141 in Press Freedom Index in the world by Reporters without Borders. It has also been given the status of "Partly Free" in Freedom in the World report by Freedom House in 2008 (Deibert, 2012). Freedom in the World index, graded on a scale of 1-7, with seven being the least free and one being the most, Malaysia received four points for both political rights and civil liberties. Use of unlicensed or have a printing press is wrong in law under the Printing Machine and Publishing Act 1984 (Abbott, 2004). Journalists have frequently given guidelines by the Prime Minister's Office when to report sensitive issues and media self-censorship is encouraged (Khoo, 2003).

Film Censorship Board of Malaysia is the government agency responsible for granting the license to the films for viewing. Malaysia began screening guidelines are less stringent. These guidelines were tightened in 2003 in the middle of the growing Islamic conservatism (Abbott, 2004): scenes of kissing and gaps in screening, nudity and sex scenes were cut, and many movies are banned (Institute of Diplomacy and foreign Relations, 2000). Screening guidelines for local film production then declined in March 2010, because of the increased unconstructive reaction of the majority of stakeholders regarding banning of an article on the 2011 Net 2.0 assemblies, in mid-August 2011, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak states that the filtering media is not effective and that the government will review the current censorship laws (Sen & Lee, 2008).

Contemporary Situations of Censorship in Malaysia

Many analysts predict that as long as the internet exists free from laws and censorship, democratic change and greater press freedom will inevitably be the result. In Malaysia, there was also a certain amount of optimism amongst press freedom activists and some journalists during the reformasi period ...