Reining in the online press
A random bag of stories.
It’s the holiday season! For those driving to their hometown or kampung for the Hari Raya festivities, safe travels.
Today’s newsletter is a bag of stories that caught my attention throughout the week. Never a dull moment, so here’s what’s up:
Looks like the government wants to seriously license the online press (ugh)
How did Ekuinas fare under the old guard? A scorecard
Malaysia’s semiconductor players struggle to navigate uncertain US waters
You’re reading a paid version of The Malaysianist, a newsletter on money and power by writer and journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa.
I run monthly and annual subscriptions. There’s also the atas or founding member tier where you get all the perks of an annual subscription and more, such as an annual or founder’s report and insight into how this little corner of the internet fared throughout the year.
Group subscriptions are on the table, if you’re mulling over purchases for your organisation or for family members.
PM Anwar Ibrahim’s government is seriously mulling regulating online media, according to Bloomberg, which means yours truly might be affected.
The newswire reports:
His government plans to introduce amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act for a first reading in parliament in the June to July session, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. If introduced, the bill — which generated criticism from media groups and press freedom advocates when it first came to light last year — is poised to ultimately pass should Anwar’s majority coalition vote in favour as a bloc in the legislature.
The amendments, if implemented, would expand the definition of a publication under the law to include anything published electronically as well as printed matter, and extend the scope of “undesirable publications” to include those that touch on sensitive issues related to religion, race and royalty. The current law already gives authorities broad powers to control speech, without explicitly naming what is known as the “Three Rs” in Malaysia.
The amendments would also require publishers to renew their licenses every three years. Currently, renewals aren’t required and online portals don’t need to have licenses under the act.
I do know that sometime in February this year the Home Ministry held engagement sessions with editors of online portals regarding the proposed amendments to the printing presses and publications act.