CIJ Report Finds Malaysia's Democratic Future Tied To Media Practitioner Welfare

SUBANG JAYA, May 10 (Bernama) -- A new report by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) finds that the sustainability of Malaysia's democracy and its ongoing media reforms hinge fundamentally on the economic security and workplace safety of media practitioners.

The findings are presented in CIJ's latest annual report, The Price of Truth: Economic Rights of Journalists in Malaysia, published today at the Media Solidarity Festival 2026. 

The festival is co-organised by CIJ, Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) and the Malaysian Media Council to mark World Press Freedom Day.

CIJ executive director Wathshlah G. Naidu said the report shines a light on the growing economic pressures facing journalists and media workers, and stressed that any talk of media freedom must also include fair pay and decent working conditions.

“We should not, in 2026, still be asking why a journalist with 20 years of experience is earning RM2,000 or RM3,000. We should be talking not about minimum wages or standards, but our baselines should be higher,” she said in her opening address at PARC Subang.

Wathshlah also highlighted the plight of freelancers and stringers, many of whom, she said, are barely scraping by, with incomes falling far short of living costs, not just in the Klang Valley but across the country.

Media freedom, she said, cannot be separated from working conditions in newsrooms. When journalists face insecure and unfair employment terms, she warned, democratic processes suffer.

The report also raises concerns over media ownership concentration, which Wathshlah described as a form of "media capture", where powerful interests shape narratives and risk undermining editorial independence.

“It was a reminder and a wake-up call for us when we started looking at who owns the media in Malaysia. It is not that we did not know, but putting it in writing brings us back to reality,” she said.

When it comes to media reforms, Wathshlah acknowledged some real progress, namely, the push to set up the Malaysian Media Council and the drafting of a Freedom of Information Bill.

These are crucial steps, she said, for strengthening transparency and rebuilding public trust in the media ecosystem.

“Media cannot function without access to reliable and timely information, and the public needs to trust the information that is channelled through the media. This Bill (Freedom of Information) is therefore critical,” she said.

She also expressed hope that the RM30 million Media Innovation Fund will be put to good use, channelled effectively to support media development and long-term sustainability.

Wathshlah stressed that the issues raised in the report must be viewed holistically, because media freedom, she said, is inseparable from working conditions.

--BERNAMA