In Nazi Germany, whenever journalists went overboard with anti-fascist exhortations in their newspapers, they were either booted off to death camps or had their printing offices burnt to a cinder (and sent off to death camps afterwards). The lucky ones were unceremoniously shot on the spot. Nowadays, one would expect such atrocious practices to end. Alas, some things never change.

Miscreant news reporters these days suffer a multitude of misfortunes at the hands of ruthless dictators and autocratic rulers.

Press freedom group Reporters Sans Frontieres had reported that at least 36 journalists were murdered in the past year for doing their jobs or voicing their opinions, which is almost twice as many as in 1998. Furthermore, 446 journalists were arrested, of whom 85 are still in prison, 653 had been attacked or threatened and 357 media organisations were censored.

"Press freedom is non-existent in a score of countries where nearly two billion people live. In nearly 70 countries, press freedom is uncertain," it lamented.

According to the group, in one of the worst cases, Sierra Leone RUF rebels executed nine reporters seen to be close to the government, while soldiers from the West African Ecomog intervention force killed one. How odd that must sound to Malaysian mainstream journalists. If you're close to the government over here, you reportedly get six months bonus and maybe a promotion, too! Maybe African journalists should emigrate to Malaysia, because the question of press freedom in Malaysia, on the other hand, is certain. It is most certainly not free.

Of late, and perhaps even before that poor fellow Anwar Ibrahim got the sack and was egregiously labelled a homosexual, the mainstream Malaysian press has been working overtime as great disciples of Mahathirism.

They helped to engineer the Chinese voter swing during the most recent installment of nearly two decades' worth of unfair elections. The full-page advertisements that were run in the papers depicting scenes of random violence and chaos should be archived as shining examples of authoritarian propaganda and should be held in awe (and revulsion) next to masterpieces such as communist doctored photos and grotesque Nazi-era caricatures.

Throughout the campaigning period, and even after the outcome of the general elections had been broadcasted, the politicians and the subservient media worked hand in glove to misinform and mislead the people. They escorted us on a trail of propaganda and lies. And we all danced to their merry little tunes.

The government crackdown against the burgeoning wave of reform movements and independent journalism has just intensified.

In the latest chapter on freedom of speech abuses, the Home Ministry had issued warning letters to two monthly magazines for flouting regulations involving their publishing permits. Wasilah , which made its debut last month, was given a Jan 8 deadline to "show cause" for not using its complete name, Al-Wasilah. The Ministry also charged that Tamadun , a pro-Opposition magazine, had "diverted from the scope of its original permit application".

PAS newspaper, Harakah , was given also given a Jan 8 deadline to respond to a show-cause letter from the Ministry before action would be taken against the biweekly tabloid. And this week, its editor and printer were hauled into court, charged with sedition.

Harakah

, the vociferous voice of PAS, has long suffered the indignation of being labelled a non-credible source of information. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen. But what is certain is that its days are numbered, and the loss of Harakah as a party newspaper will also be the loss of an outlet for many independent writers to express their thoughts and views.

Meanwhile, Tamadun , which has been in the market for over three years, had been accused of publishing articles that were more inclined towards politics. The Ministry, in a Oct 28 letter to the publisher, claimed that "the political articles published focused mainly on the opposition parties" and these articles were feared to have "offended some parties especially individuals."

Moreover, bimonthly magazine Detik has yet to receive a response from the ministry on the state of its publication permit. Last week, they were told that the Ministry had additional objections to the renewal of Detik's publishing permit. This included the accusation that the magazine did not use the complete address of the publisher.

Democracy is just a state of mind. Never in the history of mankind has such a term been so readily abused and misconstrued by the hands of the few to repress the minds of the masses. The pursuit of democratic ideals such as truth and justice should be re-defined as the pursuit of money and power by the ruling elites.

The press is the fourth estate which complements the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. But instead of jealously guarding its independence, like the other pillars of democracy, it is now inherently a tool of the government.

According to my very own cynical outlook, the independent press is, therefore a deviation from the straight and narrow path of "democratic" governance. We are an anomaly, a breakaway from the traditions of politics.

SUFFIAN ABDUL RAHMAN is a 20-year-old mass communications student at Help Institute and an intern in malaysiakini . He loves antique cars and owns a sometimes roadworthy Volkswagen 1969 Beetle.