KUALA LUMPUR: The unity government is committed to supporting the right to freedom of expression, especially by the media in terms of news reporting, in line with the Malaysia Madani concept.
Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching, in a Facebook post today, reiterated the government's commitment and said that such was reflected in the World Media Freedom Index 2023 released by Reporters Without Borders.
"It can be seen that there is a better achievement under the present government administration, with Malaysia having risen to 73rd position (with 62.83 points) out of 180 countries, compared to the previous year at position 113 (51.55 points). This is Malaysia's best achievement in the index," she said.
Malaysia is also ranked the highest among the Asean countries, ahead of Thailand (106), Indonesia (108), Singapura (129), the Philippines (132), Brunei (142), Cambodia (147), Laos (160), Myanmar (173) and Vietnam (178).
Teo said she attended a meeting on the proposal for the establishment of the Malaysian Media Council (MMM) that was mooted since 2018 and the matter was now in the process of drafting a bill.
She also conveyed greetings to media practitioners in the country in conjunction with World Media Freedom Day for their contributions to delivering accurate, fast and up-to-date news reports. -- Bernama