Mahathir says press freedoms worse under his successor

(Kyodo) - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, criticized by rights groups for his heavy-handed treatment of the media while in power, claimed Wednesday that press freedoms have worsened under his successor.

"As far as I am concerned, it is worse," he told reporters after delivering a lecture on media and national development in the administrative capital Putrajaya.

Mahathir, who stepped down from office in October 2003 and has been at loggerheads since with his hand-picked successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, accused the latter of creating a climate of fear that prevents the mainstream media from publishing views critical of the government.

Mahathir said his freedom of speech has also been "taken away" since people are now afraid to invite him to speak at their functions.

He claimed that at least 14 invitations to events extended to him were withdrawn at the last minute because the organizers were allegedly threatened either by the police or from the ruling party chiefs.

Mahathir said people would rather comply as they worried they would not get contracts from the government or get nominated in the next elections.

Ironically, these are the same accusations heaped on Mahathir when he was in power.

Steven Gan, editor of the hugely popular internet newsletter Malaysiakini disagrees with Mahathir's assessment of his successor.

"I think the situation now is slightly better because of the fact that during Tun's time, he was seen as a leader who did not brook dissent and I think there was a higher climate of fear," he said, referring to Mahathir by his honorific title.

While acknowledging the criticism against him, Mahathir maintains he never abused the laws in order to cling to power.

"My conscience is clear. I am sure there are a lot of people who are quite convinced that I did," he said in his speech.

Now that he is out of power and has become the chief critic of the government, Mahathir said his advice for Abdullah is that "Attempts to control news are bound to fail."

"If you suppress news, then the alternative source will gain credence," he added.

The Internet and the proliferation of political blogs have ensured an alternative views from those of the tightly controlled mainstream media, Mahathir said.

With the mainstream media not giving him much space to air his views, Mahathir knows the power of the Internet and bloggers. The latter are now a fixture at his press conferences, sitting side by side with regular reporters.