The paradox of freedom in Southeast Asia

By Lukas Luwarso

UNITED NATIONS: Southeast Asia is a paradoxical region. Democratic, communist, feudalist and authoritarian states coexist and have come to form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia all enjoy freedom of the press, whilst at the other end of the spectrum Burma (officially Myanmar - Ed.) imposes total control on its media, with even the ownership of computers, facsimiles and modems contingent upon permission from the regime.

The countries of Indochina -- Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos -- are emerging from three decades of socialism, and are yet to free themselves from international isolation, despite their adoption of a free market.

Meanwhile Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei frequently resort to "Asian values", where press freedom and political activity are controlled in order to "guarantee economic growth" -- a thinly veiled pretext for authoritarianism.

Southeast Asia envisages its press as a government tool, a "free and responsible" press. Of course, it is the "responsibility" rather than the "freedom" that is emphasized.

The press here is constantly asked to account for itself, even before any notion of freedom is granted. Nowhere is the argument of "development journalism" articulated more vociferously than in Southeast Asia.

Licensing, legal threats and intimidation directed at journalists all fetter press freedom. Heads of government in the region maintain that journalists must be silenced, because freedom will result in anarchy, conflict and instability.

To Southeast Asians, press freedom is an idea imported from the West. In reality, press independence only started to develop in the region in the mid 1980s.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Southeast Asian journalists felt the need to involve the society they wrote for, rather than to just report on what other people did and said.

They began to set the political agenda and to play a significant role in freeing several Southeast Asian nations from the stranglehold of authoritarianism: first in the Philippines, after the fall of Marcos in 1986; then in Thailand, following the 1992 coup; then in Indonesia, after Soeharto was forced to resign in 1998.

Malaysian journalists continue to wage war on the regime that has held power for more than 17 years. Malaysia's Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has often launched out against the liberal press in his sermons about the "social role of the media".

To quote Mahathir at the World Press Convention in Kuala Lumpur in 1985: "the press is... run by men who are moved, like other men, not only by high ideals, but also by base needs and feelings.

"The ability of the journalists to influence the course of events is out of all proportion to his individual right as a citizen of democratic society. He is neither especially chosen for his moral superiority nor elected to his post. A free press is as prone to corruption as are the other institutions of democracy. Is this then to be the only institution of democracy to be completely unfettered?"

Since his election victory in November 1999, Mahathir has tightened his stronghold on the media that had begun to criticize his leadership.

Burma is still one of the most closed countries in the world: it does not possess an independent media and foreign journalists have very little chance of being allowed to enter the country. To date, seven journalists have been jailed on account of their affiliation with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burmese citizens in practice rely upon radio transmissions from the BBC, Voice Of America and Radio Free Asia. The Minister of Information, Maj. Gen. Kyi Aung, had this to say of such outlets: "The Western Bloc and their media are trying to disrupt stability, the economy and unity, and incite unrest in countries which do not accept their influence."

The Indonesian press is struggling to establish self- regulation after three decades of repression by the Soeharto government. But they confront an unstable political situation, and mass demonstrations opposing their own freedom. In addition, the credibility of the mass media is being undermined by sensationalism.

The Philippines, the country with the longest history of press freedom in the region, has had the highest number of journalists murdered on account of their profession and to date 32 journalists' murders remain unsolved.

In Singapore, there is more info-tainment available than information. All forms of imported material, including newspapers, films, magazines, videos and computer graphics, must first pass the censors of the Films and Publications Department. All compact disks and electronic mail are censored.

Singapore only possesses three Internet service providers and one cable television operation, all of which have links to the government.

The ruling party, the People's Action Party, dominates ownership of the mass media through the state enterprise Singapore Press Holdings. Foreign media are threatened with legal sanctions if they are too critical of Singapore.

The impression given is that Singapore's citizens are largely unconcerned with freedom of the press -- as long as they can still enjoy economic prosperity.

With the notable exception of Burma, the region has begun to gain greater access to information, through satellite and cable television, newspapers, magazines and the internet. Technology has helped free the media in nations under the stranglehold of authoritarianism.

In Indonesia and Malaysia journalists use the Internet to write reports which cannot be published by the mainstream media. The economic crisis that hit the region has made its citizens aware of the need for transparency, and the urgency of access to information.

After all, it was on account of the tamed press that Soeharto and his cronies were able to run rampant accumulating vast private fortunes and destroying the Indonesian economy.

The same applies to Malaysia, where PM Mahathir Mohamad is free to indulge his ambition to develop luxurious projects and decimate the opposition.

Journalists and the media in ASEAN, particularly in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia (and, now, Malaysia), have played an important role in the democratization process.

Those journalists and media with the courage to oppose threats, pressure and censorship, to cover anti-government demonstrations and expose the misuse of power have galvanized the pro-democracy movement in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Once democratic governments have formed as a result of this resistance, it is the media which safeguards this new freedom by aggressive reporting on corruption and misuse of authority.

The transition period from authoritarianism to democracy is a period of struggle between power and freedom.

The Prime Minister of Thailand, Chavalit Yongchaiyud, who was removed in 1997, referred to The Nation, as "my biggest enemy". President B.J. Habibie in Indonesia, not long after rising to power in 1998, claimed that the Indonesian press was conducting a "tyranny of freedom".

The Malaysian Deputy PM, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, at the beginning of 1999 judged that the Malaysian press was unhealthily using press freedom as a tool to "accuse and slander".

It is difficult to imagine how a government would function without the presence of a sparring partner in the form of the press. Journalists shake the carpet that covers up economic and political practice, allowing the public to take a look and a stance.

The role of the press as a watchdog is gaining recognition and replacing the notion of a "responsible" press. In November 1998, journalists from Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines combined to form the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), which will monitor, protect and enhance the press independence.

The main threat to press freedom is no longer the government, but the tightness of competition, sensationalism and a low level of professional ethics.

The situation of press freedom in Southeast Asia remains uncertain on all fronts. Both the freest presses, such as those of the Philippines and Indonesia, and the most "docile", in Burma or Singapore, are found in the region.

And we cannot forget the emergence of a new nation in the region -- East Timor which separated from Indonesia, as a free country. This new-found freedom in Indonesia, some say, has jeopardized the unity of Indonesia. Many Southeast Asians go on fearing what they interpret as excessive freedom.

The writer is Director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and former chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), both based in Jakarta.