KUALA LUMPUR: A radio station owned by MCA fired its CEO and a DJ today, in the latest of a series of incidents that have stoked fears of media censorship.
Radio station 988FM's breakfast talk show host Jamaluddin Ibrahim said he and CEO Wong Lai Ngo were given termination letters for violating the station's broadcasting licence following complaints by government regulators.
The station is part of a media group owned by MCA, which is a key partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition that has run the country since independence in 1957.
"The company says we violated the licence conditions on race, religion and morals but all the issues we raised are the same ones that have been discussed in mainstream newspapers so this does not make sense," he said.
Jamaluddin said that in the programme identified as causing offence, two senior opposition figures -- both ethnic Chinese -- were interviewed on the topic of racial discrimination.
"It is clear that this is a conspiracy as the government wants to clamp down on any views that differ from theirs and issues that may cause people to support the opposition," he said.
Partisan coverage
A media watchdog raised concern over the latest in a spate of actions against journalists and media freedom.
"This is yet another example of how opposition parties do not have equal access to media in Malaysia," said Masjaliza Hamzah of the Centre for Independent Journalism.
"This kind of partisan coverage by the media does not create an environment that enables Malaysian journalists to remain independent and provide differing viewpoints."
Malaysia was ranked 131st out of 175 countries in the 2009 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom index, because of its tight controls on print and broadcast media.
In recent months, state television channels have axed a documentary in the plight of indigenous people displaced by a hydroelectric dam in Sarawak state, as well as a current affairs programme on civil society.
In the new media, the government has also formed a task force to scout the Internet for blog postings deemed harmful of national unity.
Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which was hit by deadly race riots in 1969
- AFP
