MalayMail-Sept 15
The Malaysian government, journalists and civil societies should watch for a shift to Beijing-friendly coverage from UMNO-aligned news outlets if the party stays in power, said a report by US-based watchdog Freedom House. In its Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 report, Freedom House said that UMNO, and by extension, the coalition that it helms, Barisan Nasional (BN), have been relatively pro-China since the emergence of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal in 2015. The report, which was released last week, said that this support was largely due to a need for investment resulting from the scandal. “The China-financed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) became a key campaign issue for UMNO [in 2021]. In December 2021, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob affirmed his support for Malaysia’s participation in the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) and the ECRL in particular,” it said. To note, the BRI is a Chinese move to develop infrastructure across numerous countries along the historic Silk Road. In mentioning key vulnerabilities that Malaysian media has to China’s influence, the report noted that most Malaysian newspapers and public broadcaster — Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) — are indirectly controlled by political parties or their allies. It also added that there is no law in Malaysia that regulates ownership of media by political parties or their affiliates. This, it said, paves the way for pro-China politicians and ministers to censor media criticism of their allies in Beijing. Nevertheless, the report noted that the Malaysian public in general was skeptical of pro-China narratives, especially in relation to the persecution of Uyghurs and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Politicians from both sides of the divide commonly criticize the Chinese government, it noted. Read more at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/09/15/freedom-house-pro-china-news-creep-to-continue-in-malaysia-if-umno-remains-in-power/28206
