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Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

3 May was proclaimed World Press Freedom Day the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO's General Conference in 1991.

It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom - a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.

It is a date to encourage and develop initiatives in favour of press freedom, and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide.

It serves as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.


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The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2011 was awarded to imprisoned Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi. He was selected by an independent international jury of 12 media professionals. You can read more about him HERE.

An article from The Malaysian Inside HERE said that Malaysia was ranked 143 out of 196 countries surveyed worldwide in the latest media freedom study, which shows it is not free. It said that together with Angola and Madagascar, it earned a score of 64 out of 100, which is considered not free. When we consider the Freedom of the Press Index, the lower the evaluation score the freer the country. The scale is constructed by evaluating a country's legal, political and economic environments.

According to TMI, in Southeast Asia, Malaysia ranks below East Timor (18), the Philippines (21), Indonesia (23), Thailand (29) and Cambodia (30) but above Singapore (32), Brunei (34) and Vietnam (36).

The above logo is the UNESCO symbol for Freedom of Expression and the Press taken from HERE.

Ironically, on this day, The Malaysian Insider reported HERE that National Union of Journalist (NUJ) president Mohamed Hata Wahari confirmed that Utusan Malaysia has sacked him but vowed today to continue leading the union for greater media freedom. In the article, Hata said he was terminated from his senior journalist post on April 21, a week after the Umno-owned paper’s disciplinary inquiry said he was guilty of breaching the terms of his contract.

MP Teresa Kok said HERE that Hata Wahari’s sacking from Utusan Malaysia today reveals both Umno’s and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s media chokehold, said DAP lawmaker Teresa Kok.

Mohamed Hata Wahari said today he will remain the president of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Malaysia until his brainchild, Utusan Rakyat, gets a publishing permit. Today, he vowed today to continue leading the union for greater media freedom.
Last year, Reporters Without Borders placed Malaysia in position # 141 out of 178 countries, below Singapore (136) and East Timor (93) in their Press Freedom Index 2010, published on October 20 late year.

So that is how World Press Freedom Day went in Malaysia! Another spanner in the works.