Our press freedom in freefall, down 23 spots

Lack of access to information has hindered press freedom and caused our rankings to drop miserably.

PETALING JAYA: The level of press freedom in Malaysia has deteriorated even further this year compared to its earlier standings as reflected in the latest rankings carried out by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Malaysia dropped 23 spots from 122 in 2012 to 145 this year in the World Press Freedom Index. In the 2011-2012 rankings Malaysia jointly held the 122nd spot with Tajikistan and Algeria.

According to the report, Malaysias ranking plummeted 23 spots due to constant lack of access to information.

The report acknowledged the NGOs and online medias work in pushing for more access to information.

However the government has been drifting towards authoritarianistic and repressive measures to curtail the access, stated the report.

This was illustrated by Putrajayas crackdown on Bersih 3.0 protest in April last year.

The RSF also stated that Putrajaya is constantly involved in repeated censorship efforts that undermine basic freedom, in particular the right to information.

Comparing Malaysias ranking with 12 other Southeast Asian countries including Papua New Guinea and East Timor this year, it appeared that Malaysia is placed in the middle of the chart.

In Southeast Asia; Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Brunei clinched the top three spots. Papua New Guinea is ranked 41; East Timor is at 90 followed by Brunei at 122.

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Our press freedom in freefall, down 23 spots