THE TRUTH ABOUT RUMOURS
 

Aliran views with grave concern the Home Ministry’s recent warning against Malaysians who transmit `negative rumours’ that the Ministry deems detrimental to `national security’.

Such a threat reinforces the suspicion among Malaysians and foreigners that the Malaysian government is not inclined to be open and transparent in its performance. It may also lend credence to some of the unfounded rumours about the country now flying around.

Concerned Malaysians, particularly those who hunger for investigative reporting and independent news analyses, should not be penalised for wanting to know what’s really going on in their beloved country.

The government should also realise that rumours thrive in a society that is often shrouded in mystery, that prohibits or discourages open discussion of current social issues, and that curbs press freedom.

We are concerned that this warning is the latest in a series of threats against freedom of expression, free access to information, and constructive criticisms, particularly when the country is facing an economic crisis. If certain rumours are true, then whose interests are really being threatened: the nation’s or the ruling elite’s?

Finally, such a warning doesn’t augur well for a country that is supposedly trying to build a so-called Information society through the well-publicised Multimedia Super Corridor.
 

P Ramakrishnan
President
26 November 1997