Democratization of information in Malaysia: A response to globalization

Abstract

Globalization and building of knowledge societies demand higher access to information. Besides investing in appropriate infrastructure and facilitate media literacy, countries must also ensure better access, availability and quality of information to their population. Malaysia has taken the necessary steps to democratize information by enacting several liberalization policies, commercialization of media stations and deregulation of telecommunication industry. To foster a role for media in the democratization of information, Malaysia ensure easy access to information for civil and political participation, guarantee the no censorship of Internet, and create capacity to create knowledge in local dialects.