Messengers under pressure as Asian news sours<\/p>\n
By Chris Johnson<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Information and those who publish it are
\ncoming under pressure across Asia as the region experiences some
\nof its biggest challenges in decades.<\/p>\n
Financial crises, currency devaluations, stock market crashes
\nand environmental disasters have prompted governments to try to
\ntinker with the reporting of bad news and discourage officials
\nfrom commenting on sensitive subjects.<\/p>\n
Authorities argue they are protecting their countries by
\ndiscouraging negative speculation and correcting mistakes.
\nPolitical analysts and economists say limiting the flow of
\ninformation is pointless because bad news always gets out and
\ncurbs on academic or press freedom ultimately damage the image
\nand integrity of a country.<\/p>\n
Like ancient military commanders receiving bad news in the
\nfield, some Asian governments are choosing to punish the
\nmessenger if they don't like the message, analysts say.<\/p>\n
\"There has been pressure on information flows as a result of
\nthis regional crisis, and governments have reacted with varying
\ndegrees of severity,\" said Bruce Gale, Singapore-based analyst at
\nPolitical & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd.<\/p>\n
Many Asian governments have always kept a rein over local and
\ninternational reporting of domestic issues.<\/p>\n
Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and China all restrict the press
\nto varying degrees, with measures such as state ownership of or
\ncontrols on newspapers, censorship and secrecy rules, circulation
\nregulations or veiled or blatant threats against foreign media,
\nor through patronage.<\/p>\n
But in the last few weeks it has been Malaysia and South
\nKorea, two countries where the media are relatively unfettered,
\nwhere the most intense pressure has been applied.<\/p>\n
Malaysia cracked down in September on \"speculators\" and blamed
\nforeigners for undermining the economy after the currency, the
\nringgit, fell on foreign exchange markets and the stock market
\nlost almost half its value in a matter of months.<\/p>\n
It threatened to use its powerful Internal Security Act, which
\nallows for virtually indefinite imprisonment without trial,
\nagainst those who undermined the economy.<\/p>\n
\"What we are experiencing is a kind of economic war,\" Deputy
\nPrime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in September.<\/p>\n
The threats had an immediate effect on brokers and analysts
\nwith few working in Kuala Lumpur or in neighboring Singapore
\nprepared to comment on the Malaysian economy.<\/p>\n
A Malaysian government order last month also barred scholars
\nfrom talking about the ill effects of the smog which has plagued
\nparts of Southeast Asia since August.<\/p>\n
The circular instructed professors, researchers and others
\nworking on the problem, stemming mainly from forest fires in
\nIndonesia, not to discuss their work directly with the press but
\ninstead to present their findings to university officials.<\/p>\n
The government says the order will prevent inaccurate
\ninformation from reaching the public and stave off panic.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists and academics said the order impinges on
\ntheir freedom and the public's right to know.<\/p>\n
\"Dumbstruck\" and \"Gag Order Adds Insult to Injury\" was the
\nreaction of Malaysian newspapers to news of the order.<\/p>\n
South Korea has reacted to negative reporting of its financial
\ntroubles. Its Finance and Economy Ministry at the weekend
\ncriticized the International Herald Tribune, the Asian Wall
\nStreet Journal and Bloomberg Business News.<\/p>\n
Senior counselor to Finance and Economy Minister Kang Kyong-
\nshik said an International Herald Tribune report, from Bloomberg,
\ndescribing South Korea's problems as possibly dwarfing those in
\nIndonesia and Thailand was unjustified.<\/p>\n
The government has put pressure on stock brokerages to tone
\ndown their bearishness.<\/p>\n
\"Recently we are often told from the top not to make negative
\ncomments based on rumors. We are also instructed not to
\nexaggerate the situation on the financial markets,\" said a broker
\nat a domestic brokerage house.<\/p>\n
But analysts and brokers dismiss such tactics.<\/p>\n
\"It undermines the country's credibility and it will be some
\ntime before that is forgotten,\" said Gale. \"It is getting to the
\npoint now where even if genuinely positive news and information
\ncomes out of Malaysia, it gets heavily discounted.\"<\/p>\n
\"The problem for these countries is that, in psychological
\nterms, they are in a period of denial,\" agreed a broker with a
\nSingapore bank, who declined to be identified.<\/p>\n
\"Until they begin to accept reality, the problems will
\npersist.\"<\/p>",
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