'Newspaper and Printing Presses Act still valid'
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) said on Friday that it stands by the law that regulates newspapers here.
The Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPAA ) ensures “the media operating in Singapore play a responsible role and that publishers are accountable for the content they publish,” it was reported as saying by The Straits Times.
The ministry was responding to questions following Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement on Thursday that he would abolish measures curbing the media and review the country’s 1984 Printing Presses and Publications Act.
Singapore’s NPAA allows the government to grant annual licenses to publishing houses. The government has the authority to gazette foreign publications and restrict their circulation here.
People approved by the government can be issued management shares, which gives them greater voting power than ordinary shares.
MICA said the law here does not restrict local media but through safeguards, prevents local newspapers from being “manipulated by foreign interests which can have a divisive effect on social cohesion”.
Noting that such considerations are “still valid today”, the ministry added that “journalistic freedom to report responsibly has not been compromised”.
The government also carries out regular reviews and will ensure NPAA’s relevance, said MICA.
Political observers told the paper the press laws here and in Malaysia, inherited from colonial rule, were almost identical before 1974 but have since evolved.
Media analyst Cherian George noted that Malaysia’s press laws may not be more relaxed.
“Because they don't have Singapore's more calibrated tools, their crackdowns tend to be harsher. And when they use their sledgehammer methods, there is more protest,” he said.
Malaysia’s recent move is a response to many years of lobbying, he noted, adding that there have been relatively few calls for the NPAA to be reviewed in Singapore.
The last time the government used licensing to close down a daily paper was in 1971, when the Singapore Herald adopted a virulently anti-government line.
