Censorship is a long term issue in Malaysia which has become more apparent as it attempts to adapt to a modern knowledge-based economy. Despite having in its Federal Constitution that subject to certain conditions, "every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression" (Article 10), Malaysia has consistently sat low on global indexes related to press and media freedom.
In 2016, Malaysia was ranked 146th (out of 180) in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders. It was also given a "Partly Free" status on the Freedom in the World report by Freedom House in 2008 and remains so in 2016. On the Freedom in the World index, graded on a scale of one to seven, with one being the most free and seven being the least, Malaysia obtained four points for both political rights and civil liberties.Map of Freedom in the World . Freedom House. Retrieved on 2008 – 08-03
Unlicensed use or possession of a printing press is illegal under the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984. Journalists are frequently given guidelines by the Prime Minister's Office when reporting 'sensitive' issues, and media self-censorship is encouraged.
Background Ex-Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said in 2003 that the guidelines surrounding censorship, which were drawn up in 1993, would be restudied because some of the rules "were no longer applicable". He reiterated that the main objective of the code was to build a better "Bangsa Malaysia". On the current film censorship guidelines, he said that if a scene was "too sexy", then the scene would be axed. "It's up to the Board. They watch the scene and if it's too glaring then they will cut it. If it's not pornographic in nature, then they will allow it. It is very subjective." He also said, "Today's standard of morality and spirituality must be strong because people are exposed to all sorts of challenges" and "There is a correlation between criminal offenders and sex and violence shown on screen."
After the negative reactions towards the censoring of an article concerning the 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally, in mid-August 2011, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak stated that media censorship "is no longer effective" and that the government will review its current censorship laws.
Despite this promise, the Malaysian government again censored reports by the BBC and Al Jazeera on the 2012 Bersih 3.0 rally. Both organisations sent very strongly worded complaints to Astro Malaysia, the broadcasting company delivering the news, about the doctoring of their news reports. The complaints were dismissed with Astro saying that the news agencies "did not take cognizance of the duty of Astro to comply with local content regulations". The Minister of Culture and Information, Rais Yatim, went on record to say that "only the best parts of the report" were shown. There were also reports of the police seizing and destroying cameras and attacking journalists who attempted to take photos of what appeared to be police brutality.
Censorship policies
Nudity Books, magazines and prints containing nudity (including nudity of aboriginal peoples) or government sensitive material are censored manually by shading areas in black ink. Some books are censored by removing entire pages.
Pornography of any kind is strictly banned in Malaysia. Sex and nude scenes are strictly disallowed by the censors.
Individual words Under subsection 48(3) and (4) of the Penang Islamic Religious Administration Enactment 2004, the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 and other state laws, non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia are penalised for using the following words, or to write or publish them, in any form, version or translation in any language or for use in any publicity material in any medium: "Allah", "Firman Allah", "Ulama", "Hadith", "Ibadah", "Kaabah", "Qadhi'", "Illahi", "Wahyu", "Mubaligh", "Syariah", "Qiblat", "Haji", "Mufti", "Rasul", "Iman", "Dakwah", "Wali", "Fatwa", "Imam", "Nabi", "Sheikh", "Khutbah", "Tabligh", "Akhirat", "Azan", "Al Quran", "As Sunnah", "Auliya'", "Karamah", "Syahadah", "Baitullah", "Musolla", "Zakat Fitrah", "Hajjah", "Taqwa" and "Soleh".
The use of individual words in publications by non-Muslims has been the subject to lengthy legal battles, including in Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur v Menteri Dalam Negeri, where the Federal Court of Malaysia overruled a High Court decision that the use of "Allah" by non-Muslims was a constitutional right. However, in the High Court case of Jill Ireland v Menteri Dalam Negeri (2021), a 1986 Federal ban under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 of a similar set of prohibited words in Christian publications was overturned as "irrational and perverse", "unconstitutional" and outside of the statutory powers conferred in the Act. The court distinguished the two decisions, arguing that Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur dealt with the constitutional right to use the word "Allah", rather than the legality of the directive itself banning Christian publications from using the word. In 2023, the Malaysian government withdrew its appeal of the 2021 High Court decision. The State Government of Selangor maintains that the decision in Jill Ireland does not affect its state enactment.
Israel Any Hebrew and Yiddish-language movies and movies from Israel are not allowed to be shown in Malaysian cinemas.
Internet
Up till 11 June 2011 and beginning July 2014, Internet content was officially uncensored, and civil liberties assured, though on numerous occasions the government has been accused of filtering politically sensitive sites. Any act that curbs internet freedom is theoretically contrary to the Multimedia Act signed by the government of Malaysia in the 1990s. However, pervasive state controls on traditional media spill over to the Internet at times, leading to self-censorship and reports that the state investigates and harasses bloggers and cyber-dissidents.
As of 28 January 2014 many political sites have been blocked by the Malaysian government. Internet users will encounter a blue and black box with "This website is not available in Malaysia as it violates the National law" announcement. When users try to resolve the IP address of those domain, they will get back an IP address provided by TM [175.139.142.25]
The OpenNet Initiative found no evidence of Internet filtering in Malaysia in the political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools areas in May 2007.ONI Country Profile: Malaysia", OpenNet Initiative, 10 May 2007 and is on the Reporters Without Borders 2011 list of countries under surveillance.Internet Enemies , Reporters Without Borders, Paris, March 2011
Prime Ministers Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak, on many occasions, have pledged that Internet access in Malaysia will not be censored and that it is up to parents to install their own censorship software and provide education to their children (provide self-censorship). The ISPs also actively deny that there are Internet filters in place when asked. However, the Communications Minister has occasionally announced that they are working on a nationwide filter, but each time such an announcement is made the Prime Minister makes a rebuttal to emphasise that there will be no Internet censorship. The state ministries of Terengganu and Kelantan have also announced that they have statewide filters in place in their respective states.
In 2006, Deputy Science and Technology Minister Kong Cho Ha announced that all Malaysian news blogs will have to be registered with the Ministry of Information. He justified this by stating the law was necessary to dissuade bloggers from promoting disorder in Malaysia's multi-ethnic society.
In April 2011, Prime Minister Najib Razak repeated promises that Malaysia will never censor the Internet. In 2016, the blogging platform Medium was blocked in Malaysia, after an investigative blog it hosted, Sarawak Report, covered allegations of corruption against Najib.
In February 2012, Malaysian authorities deported a Saudi journalist accused of insulting the Islamic prophet, Muhammad in a tweet.
In May 2013, leading up to the 13th Malaysian general election, there were reports of access to YouTube videos critical of the Barisan National government and to pages of Pakatan Rakyat political leaders in Facebook being blocked. Analysis of the network traffic showed that ISPs were scanning the headers and actively blocking requests for the videos and Facebook pages.GE13 Censorship of Online Media in Malaysia
In July 2018, the Malaysian police announced the creation of the Malaysian Internet Crime Against Children Investigation Unit (Micac) that is equipped with real-time mass internet surveillance software developed in the United States and is tasked with the monitoring of all Malaysian internet users, with a focus on pornography and child pornography. The system creates a "data library" of users which includes details such as IP addresses, websites, locations, duration and frequency of use and files uploaded and downloaded.
In March 2020, routes to IP addresses belonging to the CDN provider for Pornhub and XVideos were blocked by Telekom Malaysia. Users were initially able to circumvent the block using an alternative DNS service provider, but these IPs were eventually blocked a few days later.
On 15 February 2021, online dating platform Sugarbook was blocked. Malaysian authorities claimed that the online dating platform violates Section 233 of the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities or network service. Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has not confirmed the banning of Sugarbook, but the authority announced that they are investigating Sugarbook and several other applications that provide online dating services.
Print and publishing All newspapers need an official permit to print, which must be renewed annually until the annual licensing requirement was scrapped in a 2012 amendment to the law. The licensing system allows the government to close media outlets at will and often encourages publishers to toe the line.
In 2006 alone, 56 publications were banned by the Internal Security Ministry, including the Indonesian translation of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.2006 List of banned publications . Malaysian Ministry of Internal Security.
Malaysia once banned the release of the Bible in Iban language. The translation of the word "God", i.e. "Allah Ta'ala" was deemed to be specifically for Muslim use. The ban has since been lifted.Bible Networks. Malaysia's ban on Iban Bible lifted . Retrieved on 15 April 2008.
In August 2008, the Sisters in Islam (SIS), an Islamic organisation in Malaysia, was surprised to find that a book published in 2005 featuring a compilation of research papers was banned by the Home Ministry of Malaysia. SIS research and publications programme manager Masjaliza Hamzah said that activists and academics from Southeast Asia and the Middle East contributed to the book in 2003 and that it mainly focused on challenges Muslim women faced in their countries. A statement from SIS described the book: "It discussed strategies...used to curb extremism and promote women’s rights".
On 27 October 1987, Operation Lalang was carried out. In this operation, two daily newspapers, The Star and Sin Chew Daily, and two weekly newspapers, The Sunday Star and Watan, were closed down for several months. They also had their publishing permits suspended temporarily. Prior to the operation, The Star was the primary English newspaper that provided news in the opposition's point of view. This was considered treason, and during Operation Lalang, this newspaper was shut down. Most of the staff working for the four newspapers were laid off or otherwise threatened with prison and detainment, under the Internal Security Act.