Legal and extra-legal controls of the media during the Anwar saga.

Abstract

This study examines the status of press freedom (often defined as free from government control) in Malaysia. The on-going saga of ousted former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked, tried and sentenced to six years' imprisonment for corruption, is used as the backdrop. In-depth interviews with editors and reporters from various local and foreign press found the government intensifying its type, manner and extent of control during the saga. The Malaysian government resorted mainly to extra-legal controls to restrict the free flow of information. The only legal control executed was in suspending a Chinese magazine, "Mister". These controls resulted in the local news media toeing the line of the powers-that-be further, while the freer foreign media take pro-active and reactive measures to overcome the constraints.