Malaysians need to blaze our own, unique path towards a freer press. We have so much to learn from the press laws currently enacted by other countries in the region, but may not be able to emulate the methods they used in the struggle to ratify those laws.

The people of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand can all boast of forcing their governments to repeal repressive press laws and implement more liberal ones in their place.

It is important when comparing our own aspirations to a free press to note the political context in which these changes took place.

In the Philippines, there was a drastic change in press laws and press policies after the people power revolution that toppled president Ferdinand Marcos in 1985. Indonesia and Thailand experienced similar changes in 1997. In the former, the ouster of president Suharto, hard-won after prolonged and painful mass protests, led to the liberalisation of Indonesian politics and heralded a new dawn for press freedom.

In Thailand, the financial crisis of 1997 instigated a political uprising that ultimately resulted in the adoption of a new constitution that included a number of articles guaranteeing freedom of the press.

In all three countries, greater freedom of the press was thus only one of a wide ranging set of reforms adopted in the aftermath of what were in effect political revolutions. One might almost conclude that only catalysts of a similar magnitude can generate enough momentum to push through necessary changes for press liberalisation.

In comparison to these examples, Malaysia's government has been in power for the entirety of the country's existence, an accomplishment of which it is extremely proud, and not without reason. Political analysts can offer extremely divergent views on how the present government has achieved this, but most would agree that the ruling party is poised to retain this grip on power for a good while to come.

The government's expertise in maintaining at least a semblance of political stability means that the conditions which precipitated revolutionary political change and paved the way for press law reforms are unlikely to be replicated in Malaysia. This is true regardless of whether one believes that the ruling coalition has a history of good governance, or one of deft deception and distraction.

The combination of the government's dedication to moderation and the political apathy it has arguably bred in Malaysian society work vigorously against the chances of any major popular uprising being sparked in Malaysia in the foreseeable future.

Build own model

Using the press laws of the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand as guiding objectives is a far cry from hoping for the catalysts that sparked those changes. The upheavals experienced by those countries in 1985 and 1997 involved substantial amounts of violence and conflict. Clearly, a nobler goal is to strive for these changes outside an atmosphere of chaos and turmoil.

There is therefore a need for Malaysians committed to press freedom to conceptualise their own unique model for achieving a more liberal press; there must be a path forward that is not completely dependent on some larger political upheaval if there is any hope of a freer press in the near future.

The movement for press freedom does not lack human talent. A great number of individuals - journalists, activists, politicians - have a sincere and inspired interest in pushing for press reforms. A good amount of work has been done by these individuals and civil society groups to push the government to repeal repressive press laws.

On the other front, when questioned in the street polls segment of a project malaysiakini trainees conducted on press freedom as part of their practical project, almost 80 percent of the public agreed that press freedom was important. The sentiment seemed to be that press should be truly free to report on any case where the public good is threatened.

If sufficient momentum to affect change is to be generated, those interested in seeing press freedom reforms need to tap deeper into this public sentiment and more clearly demonstrate how all citizen's interests are threatened in the absence of a free press, and how they stand to gain from free and fair reporting.
Successfully communicating this message is the biggest chance press freedom activists have of breaking the crippling apathy that seems to afflict Malaysian society and create enough pressure on the government to consider making the necessary changes.

NATHANIEL TAN is lucky enough to be currently employed to work on refugee issues in Malaysia. He was also an enthused participant in malaysiakini's pre-employment journalism training programme conducted from May 8-26, 2006.