The 2026 World Press Freedom Index, released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) at the end of April, brought little good news from Malaysia.
Expected it may have been, but it is still cause for concern – and some shame – that Malaysia dropped from 88th to 95th in the 2026 index. The authorities, notably, have been largely muted in their reaction.
Breaking this down, the drop is based on RSF’s analysis of five indicators: political, economic, legal, social and security. The first four all show a deterioration compared with 2025.
Only the security indicator improved from last year. But even there, incidents over the past six months raise fresh questions about the safety of journalists in Malaysia.
These include the brazen broad-daylight assault on senior sports journalist and National Press Club deputy president Haresh Deol; the January incident involving a reporter and a government-linked company officer; and the March arrest of journalist Kalidas Subramaniam for alleged trespass while covering undocumented migrant workers at a construction site in Kulim’s Hi-Tech Park, Kedah.
Of the three individuals involved in the Haresh Deol assault, only one was arrested, charged in court and fined the maximum RM2,000. The other two suspect were not brought to justice.
In the case of Kalidas, despite the objections and condemnation of many organisations, including the Bar Council, the authorities largely ignored them.
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN), Maybank a/c 507246118995 or CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a regular pledge or periodic auto-donation to Aliran
- Become an Aliran member
Seen as a whole, and measured against the official rhetoric on press freedom in Malaysia, this demands serious reflection by the “Madani” (trustworthy) government.
The picture that emerges – from events, government strategies and policies over the past year – is deeply contradictory.
On the one hand, we have seen the advent of the Malaysian Media Council – the legislation for which was passed unanimously through Parliament – promising genuine self-regulation of the media.
Yet on the other hand, there have been these nasty incidents of assault and intimidation by alleged hired thugs and even government officials, seemingly with impunity.
All talk, no action
What we are seeing – and this is surely reflected in Malaysia’s drop in the RSF Index – is a widespread case of cakap tak serupa bikin (all talk and no action).
It is a familiar pattern: one hand not knowing what the other is doing.
Where one ministry promotes greater freedom and media autonomy, another remains bent on reliving a more controlled, authoritarian past – resistant to change, suspicious of ordinary people and unable to trust the media.
What authoritarian control freaks fail to grasp is straightforward: the tighter any government grips its media in this digital, borderless era, the less the local press will thrive.
It has become a sad case of cutting off our nose to spite our face.
The cost of control
As a consequence, not only will Malaysia slip further down the RSF Press Freedom Index, but the news industry will become fractured – losing credibility and audiences to more open, more transparent international media and their digital platforms.
It is reminiscent of the media landscape of the 1980s until the early 2000s, when journalists constantly faced threats of detention and news outlets faced raids and even closure by the state. This led to self-censorship and a reluctance to cover so-called “sensitive” issues.
Those “sensitive” issues have made a comeback, even under this supposedly reformist Madani government. This version is defined by the “three Rs”: race, religion and royalty, a term used to reduce what are genuinely complex issues to a simple shorthand.
Where did Reformasi go?
This is certainly not the Reformasi many of us were fighting for, and which we thought was ushered in after the 2018 general election. It represents a negation of what was gained with regime change, that is, the rejection of the Umno-Barisan Nasional government that year.
Some of those who were part of that reform movement are now in positions of power as ministers and deputy ministers in the Madani government.
As Malaysia approaches another general election, it is time they looked themselves in the mirror and asked: what has happened to the dream of media and other freedoms?
And where did Reformasi go?
Rom Nain
Co-editor, Aliran newsletter
30 May 2026
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
