Sunday, June 1, 2025
13.8 C
London

Pro-China news creep to continue in Malaysia if Umno remains in power

- Advertisement -

KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian government, journalists and civil societies should watch for a shift to Beijing-friendly coverage from Umno-aligned news outlets if the party stays in power, said a report by US-based watchdog Freedom House.

In its Beijing’s Global Media Influence 2022 report, Freedom House said that Umno, and by extension, the coalition that it helms, Barisan Nasional (BN), have been relatively pro-China since the emergence of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal in 2015.

The report, which was released last week, said that this support was largely due to a need for investment resulting from the scandal.

“The China-financed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) became a key campaign issue for Umno [in 2021].

- Advertisement -

“In December 2021, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob affirmed his support for Malaysia’s participation in the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) and the ECRL in particular,” it said.

To note, the BRI is a Chinese move to develop infrastructure across numerous countries along the historic Silk Road.

The report acknowledged that DAP has also exhibited pro-China behaviour, such as former finance minister Lim Guan Eng writing the foreword for the controversial comic book Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism that was banned in 2019.

Vulnerabilities to influence from China

- Advertisement -

In mentioning key vulnerabilities that Malaysian media has to China’s influence, the report noted that most Malaysian newspapers and public broadcaster – Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) – are indirectly controlled by political parties or their allies.

“The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) is the largest shareholder for The Star, while Berita Harian and the New Straits Times are associated with Umno,” it said.

It also added that there is no law in Malaysia that regulates ownership of media by political parties or their affiliates.

This, it said, paves the way for pro-China politicians and ministers to censor media criticism of their allies in Beijing.

- Advertisement -

Furthermore, the report said that in some cases, proxy companies make it hard to determine who the actual owners of a media company are.

Nevertheless, the report noted that the Malaysian public in general was sceptical of pro-China narratives, especially in relation to the persecution of Uyghurs and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Politicians from both sides of the divide commonly criticise the Chinese government, it noted.

Additionally, it said that although some media outlets may source news stories regularly from Chinese state media, the same outlets also commonly republish news from international news agencies that are critical of China.

The report listed Malaysia as “Vulnerable”, giving Beijing’s media influence efforts here a score of 37 out of 85 (“High”), while local resilience and response was given a score of 35 out of 85 (“notable”).

According to the report, a score of zero denotes “least influence”, while a score of 85 denotes “most influence”.

The study was conducted in 30 countries, including US, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, the Philippines, and India with the help of at least one local researcher in each country, who conducted desk research and interviews with members of the media, government, and civil society.

The researchers then submitted responses to a questionnaire, where the responses determined proposed scores.

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected] 2017 Malay Mail Online

Read More News:

The ‘majestic’ Singapore orchid named in honour of Queen Elizabeth

- Advertisement -

Hot this week

Kate Middleton expecting twins, according to reports

According to news on the Internet, the Duchess of...

Is BTS’s Taehyung colour blind?

The rumour mill online has been speculating that Korean...

Hurley wore ‘the dress’ after being snubbed by top fashion designers

Model Liz Hurley became famous after wearing "the dress"...

Hyun Bin taking legal action against rumours involving Son Ye Jin

While the hottest K-drama screening on-air is undoubtedly Crash...

HK protesters call for boycott of Ip Man 4: The Finale

Hong Kong -- The final instalment of the Ip...

Dynasty or Democracy? Nurul Izzah’s Comeback Sparks Uproar in PKR as Rafizi Cries Foul

Anwar Ibrahim is renowned for his out-of-the-box thinking, which...

ChatGPT at two — and OpenAI’s vision for the future

Two years after OpenAI launched ChatGPT, the groundbreaking AI...

Vertical Institute Unveils Generative AI Course to Meet Growing Demand for Digital Proficiency

The future of work is undeniably intertwined with artificial...

Jimmy Carter: The Nobel US president who lived to be 100

Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who became the 39th...

Manmohan Singh: The leader who transformed India

Manmohan Singh's story is one of remarkable transformation, both...

Why AI ‘hallucinates’: What’s missing in the models

The American writer Richard Powers' latest novel, Playground, delves...

Challenging job market diminishes appeal of postgraduate studies in China

China is seeing a significant decline in postgraduate entrance...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_img