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CIAO DATE: 12/02
Foreign Policy
Net Effect: Mahathir's Paradox
Cherian George*
The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks him among the world's 10 greatest enemies of press freedom, but Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fancies himself a friend of the Internet.
Determined to court high-tech investment from overseas, Mahathir has for over five years maintained a no-censorship policy for the Web, even as he suppresses domestic print and broadcast journalism and curbs the distribution of foreign publications deemed irresponsible, such as the Far Eastern Economic Review. So far, Mahathir's government has resisted the urge to harmonize online regulations with offline press laws.
The laissez-faire Internet policy has allowed dissenting Web sites to blossom. One of the most popular is Malaysiakini, a news site founded by Steven Gan and Premesh Chandran, two refugees from the Malaysian daily Sun. It has received funds from the U.S.-based Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF). However, MDLF's link to financier George Soros — whom Mahathir partially blames for the country's 1997 crash — has been milked by the government to question Malaysiakini's motives. Nevertheless, the site attracts 100,000 unique visitors a day.
Also on the Internet is the country's oldest human rights group, Aliran. It supplements its monthly print magazine with a Web site carrying its latest statements and news flashes.
Malaysia's most popular alternative site is probably Harakah Daily, claiming at least 400,000 hits a day. It is an organ of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), which — despite its fundamentalist label — has found common ground with an eclectic mix of secular opponents of the government. Harakah Daily carries streaming video of pas leaders' speeches; columns by other politicians, intellectuals, and activists; and even occasional criticism of the party's leadership — all to showcase what a free press in an Islamic democracy should look like.
Every now and then, exasperated Malaysian officials threaten to suppress online dissent, yet Mahathir appears satisfied that the Internet's influence is no match for the daily newspapers and airwaves he controls. Internet journalists agree. "Given the choice, I would publish a newspaper," says Gan.
Endnotes
Note *: Cherian George researches journalism and the Internet at Stanford University. Back