Scepticism over Malaysian PM's reform announcement

Kean Wong, Radio Australia

The civil rights reforms announced in Malaysia last week include not only repealing the notorious Internal Security Act, but also winding back the stiff licensing laws that have long controlled and censored the Malaysian media.

Some in Malaysia's mainstream media industry have praised Prime Minister Najib Razak's proposed removal of annual licensing for newspapers as heralding a "dawn of a new era".

But analysts remain sceptical about ushering in greater media freedoms, short of wholesale changes in the ownership of newspapers and television networks.

Reporter: Kean Wong
Speakers: Zaharom Nain, Nottingham University in Malaysia; Hata Wahari, former head of Malaysia's National Union of Journalists; Jahabar Sadiq, editor of Malaysian Insider