Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang has challenged Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin to support an emergency motion to debate Malaysia's plunge in the latest world press freedom index.

In a statement, Lim said he has given notice to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Ramli Ngah Talib to move a motion to debate the nation's worst ever ranking in the index compiled by watchdog Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF).

On Oct 16, RSF released its annual index which saw Malaysia falling by 32 spots to 124.

On Oct 20, Zainuddin - better known as Zam - applauded Singapore Senior Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew's success in a defamation suit against the London-based Financial Times as a victory over "Western values of press freedom".

The newspaper had apologised to Lee and members of his family on Oct 17 and agreed to pay damages for false allegations contained in an article which dealt with political influence.

Stating open support for Lee, Zam called on Malaysians to ignore the RSF index, saying in a Bernama report: "For me, the only language understood by the Western media is when their pockets are hit.

"The freedom preached by them is only rhetoric and their real value is money and for me the only way to fight the Western values of press freedom is by emulating Lee Kuan Yew's way."

Telling Zam to put his arguments before Parliament, Lim said the comments amount to a "public slap in the face" both to the minister and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who has promised greater freedom of expression.

"But (Malaysia) has now been given a worldwide press freedom ranking which is even worse than under the era of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad," he added.

Singapore's ranking improved from 146 to 141 in the RSF index. It was earlier ranked among the five countries deemed to be least corrupt in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.