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Censorship is a growing issue in Malaysia as it attempts to adapt to a modern knowledge-based economy. Malaysia has one of the world's strictest forms of media censorship, with nearly a hundred movies banned in this decade alone on the pretext of upholding morality. Most recently, a number of websites critical of the Malaysian Government had been pulled off. In 2014, Malaysia was ranked 147th in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index by ''Reporters Without Borders''. It was also given a "Partly Free" status on the Freedom in the World report by Freedom House in 2008. On the Freedom in the World index, graded on a scale of one to seven, with one being the most free and seven being the least, Malaysia obtained four points for both political rights and civil liberties.〔(Map of Freedom in the World ). Freedom House. Retrieved on 2008 – 08-03〕 Unlicensed use or possession of a printing press is illegal under the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984. Journalists are frequently given guidelines by the Prime Minister's Office when reporting 'sensitive' issues, and media self-censorship is encouraged. The Film Censorship Board of Malaysia is the government agency responsible for granting licenses to the films for commercial viewing. Malaysia's film censorship guidelines were further tightened in 2003 amid rising Islamic conservatism: In addition to nudity and sex scenes being strictly censored off, kissing scenes and cleavages were also censored and many movies were banned altogether. Censorship guidelines for local movie productions were only slightly eased in March 2010 to allow LGBT characters who could only portray their sexual orientation through hugging the same sex. No kissing was allowed between two men or two women. Pornography of any kind is strictly banned in Malaysia. After the negative reactions towards the censoring of an article concerning the 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally, in mid-August 2011, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak stated that media censorship "is no longer effective" and that the government will review its current censorship laws. Despite this promise, the Malaysian government again censored reports by the BBC and Al Jazeera on the 2012 Bersih 3.0 rally. Both organisations sent very strongly worded complaints to Astro Malaysia, the broadcasting company delivering the news, about the doctoring of their news reports. The complaints were dismissed with Astro saying that the news agencies "did not take cognizance of the duty of Astro to comply with local content regulations". The Minister of Culture and Information, Rais Yatim, went on record to say that "only the best parts of the report" were shown. There were also reports of the police seizing and destroying cameras and attacking journalists who attempted to take photos of what appeared to be police brutality. ==Background== Ex-Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said in 2003 that the guidelines surrounding censorship, which were drawn up in 1993, would be restudied because some of the rules "were no longer applicable". He reiterated that the main objective of the code was to build a better "Bangsa Malaysia". On the current film censorship guidelines, he said that if a scene was "too sexy", then the scene would be axed. "It's up to the Board. They watch the scene and if it's too glaring then they will cut it. If it's not pornographic in nature, then they will allow it. It is very subjective." He also said, "Today's standard of morality and spirituality must be strong because people are exposed to all sorts of challenges" and "There is a correlation between criminal offenders and sex and violence shown on screen." The censors pay special attention to political and religious themes in films. Sex and nude scenes are strictly disallowed by the censors. Films are rated to guide Malay audiences on the nature of the content, or banned outright if the material is considered inappropriate. Any Hebrew and Yiddish-language movies and movies from Israel are not allowed to be shown in Malaysian cinemas. Rastafarian reggae is often censored, as it refers to "Zion". Concerns have been raised over the board's political neutrality, as it is under the control of the Malaysian home office. All newspapers need an official permit to print, which must be renewed annually. The licensing system allows the government to close media outlets at will and often encourages publishers to toe the line. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Censorship in Malaysia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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