The paradox of freedom in Southeast Asia

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.