How lucky we Filipinos are: In our country, we enjoy democracy and press freedom. Not in Malaysia. The media covering the Sabah crisis are not given free access to information and neither are they free to cover fully what is happening.
Only the Malaysian state media are authorized to disseminate information about the crisis. Some areas are even off-limits to media; one media practitioner was arrested for being critical of the Malaysian government. Macky Pulido, a veteran GMA 7 newscaster, herself witnessed this incident, which she related in her report.
Different media outfits have come up with an open letter asking the Malaysian government to allow them more leeway in covering the crisis.
In short, there is too much censorship in Malaysia; reporters and correspondents are unable to do their job of reporting the news as it happens.
There is no press freedom in Malaysia and this is very obvious.
Malaysia hides the real score on the crisis from the public, and this is tantamount to a news blackout.
This will never happen in the Philippines. In fact, hereabout, we have too much press freedom we even tend to overstretch it.
But that is much, much better and healthier than a censored press.
—CINDY D. VENADAS
venadas_c@yahoo.com