Fine on Astro shows govt vengeful, cannot take criticism - ass't prof
The fine on satellite television provider Astro, issued five years after re-airing an Al Jazeera documentary in 2015, clearly shows that the government does not tolerate criticism, says academic V Gayathry.
"It is clear that the government and political leaders do not tolerate any criticism, are engaged in vengeful politics, and are not interested in dialogue or engagement with stakeholders," she said when contacted by Malaysiakini today.
She explained that the fine on Astro was the latest in a series of censorship incidents by the government, which includes suddenly requiring approval from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas).
The fine imposed on Astro, she adds, also indicates another attempt by the authorities to harass news station Al Jazeera, even if it meant the government would go after broadcasters that only published the content.
“The government appears to want to build a case against Al Jazeera. If it wants to dispute the content (in the documentary), the best thing to do is present facts and arguments," said Gayathry who a media and politics assistant professor at the University of Nottingham.
Presenting the government's side of the story would be better, she said, than using the arm of the law against local and international media.
The documentary in question was produced by Al Jazeera and was on the murder of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.
The compound from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) that was sighted by Malaysiakini was issued to Measat Broadcast Network Systems Bhd, which operates Astro.
The notice was sent to Measat on July 7, close to five years after the documentary had re-aired four times on Sept 11, 12, and 14, 2015. The show was first aired on Sept 10, 2015.
This comes after Al Jazeera fell under police scrutiny for its July 3 documentary “Locked up in Malaysia’s Lockdown”. Both the documentaries were part of the news station's award-winning Asia Pacific current affairs programme, 101 East.
On Tuesday, Finas also said Al Jazeera did not have the necessary licences to film “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown”.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil then questioned whether other broadcasting companies such as TV3 or the History Channel actually had the necessary licences to film documentaries in the country.
“It was said before this that Al Jazeera does not have a documentary licence to film documentaries, so I would like to ask the minister to provide an explanation.
“How many media companies such as TV3 which has the Majalah 3 programme and the History Channel who had once made a documentary about Malaysia, do they have this documentary licence?” Fahmi asked in the Dewan Rakyat.
Police are investigating Al Jazeera for allegedly breaching Section 22 (1) of the Finas Act 1981 (Amendment 2013) for carrying out film production activities without a valid licence from Finas.
The news company is also being investigated for sedition and improper use of network facilities. 101 East journalists have even received death threats from Malaysians who were incensed by what they perceived to be a negative portrayal of the country, Al Jazeera had said.
On July 12, a week after the "Lockdown" documentary was aired, the Immigration Department cancelled the work visa of Bangladesh citizen Md Rayhan Kabir, 25, who appeared in the film and alleged that there was mistreatment against migrants by the Malaysian government.
