Debate with Mat Sabu, not prosecute him!

21 September 2011

Civil Society Joint Press Statement

Debate with Mat Sabu, not prosecute him! 

We, the undersigned civil society organisations,collectively register our utter disgust over the prosecution of PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu under Section 505 of the Penal Code with uttering statements tantamount to public mischief. He was even briefly arrested last night.

Charging Sabu goes against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s pledge to promote openness and democracy on Malaysia Day.

It raises questions over the sincerity of PM Najib in announcing a series of reforms  including amendment of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA), whether he has full control on the police or both.

We urge the government to immediately drop the politically-motivated charge of Sabu and stop intimidating dissidents who oppose and challenge official history and ideology.

与玛沙布辩论，而非提控他！

2011年9月21日

公民团体联合文告我们，联署的公民团体，集体表达我们对政府提控回教党署理主席玛沙布的厌恶。政府将以刑事法典505条文既危害公众言论罪名提控玛沙布，他昨晚被警方短暂扣留。

政府提控玛沙布，显然与首相纳吉在马来西亚日宣布的民主开放措施背道而驰。

这令人质疑首相纳吉宣布的系列改革的诚意，包括修改印刷与出版法令。首相是否还能全面控制警察部队的行动？

我们促请政府即刻撤销此含有政治动机的提控，停止恐吓挑战官方历史与意识形态的异议者。

电视台新闻工作者应争取劳工权益

2010年8月11日

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟(WAMI)文告

继第二电视台《前线视窗》制作人周泽南的合约被终止后，再度传来万挠高压电缆专题制作人陈彦妮不获续约，维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟对此深表失望，并希望国营电视台总监依不拉欣（Ibrahim Yahya）和新闻部长莱士雅丁给予一个合理的解释。

无论是周泽南所制作的，因巴贡水坝计划而被逼迁的原住民面临的困境，还是陈彦妮所参与制作的万挠高压电缆议题，都攸关人民权益。他们两人恰到其分扮演了新闻工作者反映民声民意的角色。

电视台管理层没有给予理由，于合约终止前一天告知陈彦妮不获续约，是非常粗暴的手段，对任何一个新闻工作者来说，都是不合理的对待。这种处理手段，不免让人怀疑，大马广播电视台（RTM）似乎在对具有独立专业精神的制作团队进行清算，以维护政府的利益，同时也曝露出我国电视台新闻工作者的工作不稳定和缺乏保障。

我们认为，RTM以合约方式聘请制作人的方式是完全不专业和不合理的，新闻工作者需要稳定、全职和具备基本福利的工作以执行他们的职务。约聘制度盛行于国营和私营电视台并非新闻，唯此次事件更加曝露出约聘制的弱点，其不确定性使新闻工作者在新闻作业上趋向保守及不敢违逆上司的意愿，即使作业方式违反新闻伦理。这严重造成新闻工作者和媒体组织资方处于不平等的地位。

国内电视台新闻工作者必须正视这个问题，明了劳工权益与新闻专业息息相关。我们吁请被剥削的新闻工作者团结一致和组织起来，以“既争取劳工权也争取新闻专业”的策略，努力争取合理的劳动条件和权益。

黄进发

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟主席

Tags: 陈彦妮，RTM，大马广播电视台，周泽南，劳工权益

Party Organs should be saleable to all citizens

WAMI  Statement

2010-07-22

Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) strongly condemn the government for deliberately disapproving or delaying the renewal of publication permits for three opposition parties’ organs, namely Suara Keadilan, Harakah and The Rocket. To date, only Harakah’s permit is renewed.

WAMI holds that in democracy where citizens are free to choose their reading materials, party organs with narrow appeals cannot be sold beyond the circle of party loyalists even if they want to.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s assertion that the party organs must stick to the ministry’s guideline and restricting their sales to party members therefore only suggests that these party organs are actually popular beyond their membership.

And why would non-members spend their hard-earned money to buy overtly partisan views? The answer is simple: all mainstream media are now strictly controlled by the government through censorship and ownership made possible by restrictive laws like the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).

Tags: harakah, party organ, PPPA, suara keadilan, the rocket

党报应可销售给公众

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟文告

2010年7月23日

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟强烈谴责政府故意不批准，抑或拖延批准三份反对党党报 — 《公正之声》、《哈拉卡》和《火箭报》。至今，仅有《哈拉卡》的出版准证获得更新。

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟认为，民主社会的公民有选择读物的自由。若党报的诉求狭隘，即使传播多广，也无法超出党忠诚支持者的范围。

内政部长希山慕丁胡先表示党报必须遵从内政部指南和只限党员购买，显示这些党报在非会员群众也广受欢迎。

为什么非会员会花费辛苦赚得的金钱购买内容偏颇的党报？答案很简单：所有主流媒体现在被严格控制，政府通过限制性法律如出版与印刷法令审查媒体及控制拥有权。

Tags: harakah, the rocket, 党报，suara keadilan

掙扎在威權政體與族群政治中的媒體改革——以馬來西亞「撰稿人聯盟」的實踐為例

黃國富   (刊登於台灣東南亞學刊，5 卷2 期，2008 年，頁89－118)

馬來西亞的威權體制與族群政治環境中，媒體一直受到許多限制，近年由民間組成的媒體改革團體要有所作為，除需衝撞體制，也要面 對糾結的族群問題，而這涉及了族群內部與不同族群間的各種因素，使媒改問題更形複雜。本文以「撰稿人聯盟」的實踐為例，試圖說明這個由華人所組成的媒改團 體，其出現與實踐過程，相當具體地展現了這樣的困境。本文認為要突破這困境，除要打破族群政治的框限，橫向連結其他公民團體，壯大改革力量，也需深耕言論 自由與新聞自由的理念，號召更多民眾加入媒改行列，共同改善媒體環境，協助馬來西亞邁向民主化。

關鍵字: 威權政體、族群政治、民主化、媒體改革、壟斷

點擊 4.pp89-118TJSEAS5_2_. 下載完整論文。

Tags: 維護媒體獨立撰稿人聯盟，黃國富

Lift ban on cartoons, repeal PPPA

Joint Press Statement by CIJ & WAMI
29 June 2010

Lift ban on cartoons, repeal PPPA

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and Writers’ Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) condemn the Ministry of Home Affair’s banning of “1Funny Malaysia”, “Perak Darul Kartun” dan “Isu Dalam Kartun”, all cartoon compilations by Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar.

According to online daily “Malaysiakini”, whose subsidiary Kinibooks is the publisher of “1Funny Malaysia”, the Ministry’s secretary-general Mahmood Adam justified the ban thus: “All three publications have been banned for…contents that can influence the
people to revolt against the leaders and government policies. The contents are not suitable and [are] detrimental to public order.” The report did not state when the ban was imposed, merely quoting the official as saying so on 24 June.

CIJ and WAMI hold that no books should be banned to prevent the circulation of ideas, and that the people should be free to seek and receive them. However, we are particularly appalled by the rationale for the ban, which revealed flagrant partisanship of the civil service toward the government of the day. The civil service, by name and mandate, is supposed to be above politics and serve the public, which includes protecting the people’s right to express what they think of the elected government. The Ministry is being nonsensical to link criticism of the ruling government with public disorder, when the
former is a hallmark of a functioning democracy.

The Ministry also resorted to the undemocratic measure of confiscating the books for “study” in January this year and August last year, a move which has intimidated retailers from selling them.

We call for an immediate lift of the ban and the repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act under which the ban is being imposed. Once again, the law is being abused by the state as a political tool for hegemonic purposes rather than to maintain social order.

Issued by

Yip Wai Fong
Communication and Publications Officer, CIJ

Wong Chin Huat

President, WAMI

解禁漫画，废除出版与印刷法令

独立新闻中心与维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟联合文告

2010年6月29日

解禁漫画，废除出版与印刷法令

独立新闻中心（CIJ）与维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟（WAMI）谴责内政部查禁《一个滑稽大马》、《漫画霹雳》和《漫画时事》。祖基菲里安华是这些漫画的编辑，他以“祖纳”的名字著称。

根据网络媒体当今大马，《一个滑稽大马》的出版商是它的子公司。内政部秘书长玛末阿当指出：“这三本刊物被禁的原因是…内容能影响人民起义对抗领袖和政府政策。这些内容不适当及将破坏公共秩序”。报导没有说明禁令何时落实，只是引用6月24日的官方说法。

独立新闻中心（CIJ）与维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟（WAMI）认为，任何书籍都不应被禁止传播观念，人民应有自由寻找和获取书籍的权利。我们对查禁三本漫画的理由感到震惊，公共服务竟然盲目拥护今日之政府。公共服务正如其名，它获得人民的委托，本应超越政治和为公众服务，包括保障人民向民选政府自由表达意见的权利。内政部把批评政府和引起社会动荡相关联是荒谬的，前者是民主制度运行的重要特征。

内政部也以不民主手段，在今年一月和去年八月以“研究”为由没收这批书籍，这个行动已恐吓销售商不敢售卖这些书籍。

我们促请政府马上解禁三本漫画，废除被援引以查禁书籍的出版与印刷法令。这法令已被政府当作政治工具滥用以维持霸权，而非用于维护社会秩序。

发表联合文告单位

叶韦坊

通讯及宣传员，独立新闻中心

黄进发

维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟

Tags: 1 funny malaysia, Zunar

528 “No Self-Censorship & No Political Interference” Movement

To read series of events of 528 “No self-censorship & No political interference” movement, please go to 528 tak nak potong blog

欲阅读528“反自我审查，反政治干预”运动的系列活动，请点击528不剪之夜的部落格。

Democratization: 10 KPIs for Najib next 100 days

Joint Press Statement

July 11^th notes the 100^th day of Najib’s premiership. His 100-days performance will serve as an indicator on how our country is likely to be governed for the next four years.

First of all, we laud the various measures of economic reforms announced lately by the Government. While these bold measures will help liberalize our economy amidst the challenges of globalization, the authoritarian root cause of economic ethno-nationalism, cronyism, corruption and power abuse must be duly recognized. If the government insists to separate the politics from economy and maintain iron-fist political control, its moves in economic liberalization will be just the tricks for the political elites to stay in power.

Tags: democracy, Najib