APRIL 3 ― These are dark times, but we journalists should not be afraid.

Instead, we need to stand strong together with The Malaysian Insider (TMI) and continue to report on public interest issues without fear or favour.

The fragmented media industry in Malaysia must join hands across language and platform and stand united against any attack on press freedom.

When the police arrested the four TMI journalists and their publisher for sedition over a news report on hudud, it was an assault on the media as a whole.

This is not about whether particular news outfits are pro-Barisan Nasional or pro-Pakatan Rakyat. This is about the state of the fourth estate in Malaysia and where we move from here.

Political affiliations should not divide us.

We should oppose any state action that seeks to intimidate us from doing our job in holding public officials accountable for their actions.

Whether it’s about hudud or taxes, journalists should have the freedom to report on such issues without fear of arrest from the authorities.

Freedom from state action does not mean freedom from defamation suits undertaken by individuals in a private capacity. The issue of the veracity of the TMI hudud report is a red herring.

Journalists have the responsibility to report accurately and fairly. If mistakes are made or intentional untruths written, one can easily demand for private remedies.

But the state should never be involved in prosecuting journalists for their work as it will hinder them from freely and fearlessly reporting about the government or public institutions, which are among the most important subjects that the media covers.

Threatening imprisonment for unfavourable news reports is a bullying tactic aimed at muzzling the press.

If journalists are fearful of upsetting the authorities, how can ordinary citizens obtain information about important issues like corruption? How can Malaysians even begin to discuss things that affect their lives like the institutionalisation of religion if the media does not talk about it?

When the media is silenced, the people are silenced.

The press has the power to shape national discourse.

Our job is to bring matters of national interest in the public domain and to let society decide for themselves what to do with such information.

I fear that not only will the arrest of journalists spur self-censorship, which I know that some already practise, but it may even discourage reporters from asking government officials hard questions.

As it is, journalists here hesitate in throwing hardball questions at ministers, particularly, during press conferences.

We have the opportunity to ask public figures the questions that ordinary people already have in their minds.

But if we are afraid of even taking the first step in asking such questions, then we have failed our duty as a guardian of the public interest.

The role of journalists is crucial in a democracy. We hold immense power and responsibility in maintaining checks and balances on governments, businesses and institutions.

No one should be exempt from media scrutiny as the press ultimately represents the people.

The more powerful the institution, the more open it should be to public examination.

*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.