by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
SINGAPORE’S media industry has long been tightly controlled by the government. This is unlikely to change in 2019; in fact, new legislation is expected that could further curb press freedom and freedom of expression.In January 2018, Parliament convened a Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods to hold public consultations and gather feedback on how to […]
by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
IT WAS April Fool’s Day when it was finally tabled for its first reading in Parliament, but the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill (POFMA) is no laughing matter.Described by the Asia Internet Coalition as “the most far-reaching legislation of its kind to date,” the Bill will allow any government minister to issue directives […]
by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
IN APRIL 2018, during its last Parliamentary sitting as Government, the Barisan Nasional rushed through a law designed, according to its supporters, to curb the spread of “fake news:” the Anti-Fake News Act. As initially presented to Parliament, the bill encompassed anyone, Malaysian or non-Malaysian, who discussed Malaysia at home or abroad. Those found guilty […]
by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
SHORTLY AFTER Malaysia’s historic 9 May 2018 elections, a new feeling of freedom had swept across the country, and even the most jaded of journalists were giddy with excitement. The poll results, after all, had brought the first change of government in the country since Independence in 1957. The previous administration had also increasingly tightened […]
by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
IN DECEMBER 2018, Myanmar’s Minister for Information Pe Myint gave lie to global reports that offered a grim prognosis of press freedom in the former pariah state.Speaking before an audience of journalists, dignitaries, and civil-society representatives, he said that press-freedom indexes are biased and that the freedom- and rights-ranking mechanisms of international organizations are not […]
by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
WITH STILL no new government as of early May 2019, free speech in Thailand continues to be restricted by special laws imposed by the military junta, officially known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which seized power from an elected civilian government in May 2014.Specifically cited by the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) […]
by Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
POLITICAL FREEDOM and civil liberties are in a downward spiral globally. Democracy is not only in retreat, but is under assault in Southeast Asia.State-sponsored threats and attacks, internet being weaponized with toxic discourse and false narratives, hate speech and identity politics have favored patrons, caused deep divisions, and targeted vulnerable sectors.In 2018, most of the […]
BY ALL indications, President Rodrigo R. Duterte has no love lost for independent and critical media.In about two dozen times in his 34 months in office, he has openly expressed his displeasure and disaffection, and in rancorous prose called journalists names and foisted threats both veiled and naked against certain media agencies.In his own words, […]
IN the last 34 months under President Rodrigo R. Duterte, cases and incidents of attacks and threats on the Philippine media continue relentlessly, with hardly any major efforts at investigation or solution by responsible state agencies.To mark World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, May 3, the “Freedom for Media, Freedom for All Network” released its […]
Pahayag ng PCIJ ukol sa “Oust-Duterte plot” na ulat ng Manila Times, 22 April 2019ANG “association matrix” at ulat ng Manila Times ukol sa mga journalist, kasama ang mga taga-PCIJ, na di-umano’y sangkot sa “oust-Duterte” plot, ay mali sa maraming dahilan: Wala ni isa mang email na natanggap ang PCIJ mula kay Ms Ellen Tordesillas ukol […]
