The survey was conducted in support of the work of the Centre of Independent Journalism (CIJ) and funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The poll seeks to find out perception of the public towards media independence and data collected will later be made used by CIJ in planning its activities to raise public awareness on the subject of media freedom.

1. Commissioned by Supported by Implemented by MEDIA INDEPENDENCE SURVEY 2008 8 th – 14 th MAY 08

2. “ All rights reserved. This report is published by proprietary subscription. No parts of this publication may be distributed, reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying without the permission of the copyright owner, application for which should be addressed to the same. The distribution, reproduction, copying or transmission including the quotation of a part of the whole thereof by a non-customer is strictly prohibited” Supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation

3. About Merdeka Center A Public Opinion Research Organization Market research for social, economic and political issues Provides decision support for policy makers Obtains feedback for communications strategy development What we do Qualitative and Quantitative Research - Focus groups and in-depth interviews, ethnographic surveys - In person and telephone surveys; random or field intercept How we do it Generally, random multistage sampling Commitment to tell the truth – no matter how painful Why we do it Because leaders need to know what the public is thinking Timely information help saves resources and people

4. How polls help policy makers and leaders Assess public satisfaction on important issues and problems Allows for prioritization of problem solving Prioritization for resource allocation Provides guidelines for enhancing effectiveness of communications Makes understand public mood in more systematic way Helps find better approaches to persuade people Tracks trends and permits forecasting With long term tracking, one can begin to forecast how policies impact perceptions Allows for trial balloons and message testing Polls permit “tests” of policies and statements on the public and measure impact on support and other variables

7. Respondent Profile

8. Respondent Profile

9. News and Information Access & Consumption

10. News and Information Access & Consumption

11. News and Information Access & Consumption

12. Survey Findings

13. Q1. How relevant is the local news media in your day-to-day living?

14. Q2. Who do you think owns most of the media in the country?

15. Q3. Do you understand the concept of media as a watchdog?

16. Q4. Do you think the media in Malaysia is fulfilling its role as a watchdog to influential factions?

17. Q5. Do you think reports that question or disagree with the government's policies are threats to national harmony or security?

18. Q6. Do you think that owners of media have a significant impact on media content?

19. Q7. Do you know laws governing the media? Can you name them?

20. Q8. Do you think the government should control the number of publications and who should be allowed to publish? 46% (n = 494) Number of publications YES NO Who should be allowed to publish NO YES 41% (n = 441) 4% (n = 43) 9% (n = 101)

21. Q8C. Why? (Among those responding to Q8A & Q8B)

22. 43% (n = 450) Number of broadcast media YES NO Who should be allowed to operate broadcast media NO YES 42% (n = 442) 10% (n = 108) 5% (n = 50) Q9. Do you think the government should control the amount of broadcast media and who should be allowed to operate the broadcast media?

23. Q9C. Why? (Among those responding to Q9A & Q9B)

24. Q10. When a news media is said to be " pro-government" or "pro-opposition", do you think it affects the media's credibility?

25. Q11. Do you think the current requirement to license the media have a significant impact on the accuracy of news content?

26. Q11A. Why? (Among those who answered in the affirmative in Q11, n = 761)

27. Q12. Do you think we have enough laws to regulate the media?

28. Q13. Instead of laws, do you think public opinion and peer pressure within the industry are better tools for regulating the media?

29. Q14. Should the reporting of the following areas be censored?

30. Q14. Should the reporting of the following areas be censored?

31. Q15. Do you think media should be left independent in deciding what it wants to report?

32. Q16. How often do you think the issue of media independence, press freedom and freedom of speech are discussed in the media?

33. Q17. What was your MAIN source of news during the general election of 2008?

34. Q18. Who were the major actors (personalities) reported by your choice of news medium?

35. Q19. In general, did your choice of media help you make an informed decision on who you should vote for during the general election?

36. Q20. How would you describe the slant in reporting of the following media during elections?

37. Q23. During the elections, did you read from more than one news media to compare their reportage on a same issue?

38. Q24. Between the reporting of the mainstream media and the internet during the elections, which one did you trust more?

39. Q25. If 1 = very unfavourable and 5 = very favourable, please rate the local mainstream media on the following.

40. Q26. If 1 means not important at all and 5 means very important, how important do you think is access to fair and balanced source of information to one's everyday life?

41. Q27. Would you like to see changes leading to greater media independence?

42. Q28. In general, what kind of changes do you think is needed?

43. Q29. Do you think supporting media independence is dangerous?

44. Q30. Are you aware of any NGO or individuals who work on improving media independence?

45. Q31. Who do you should play the most important role in improving media independence in Malaysia?

46. Q32. What do you think is the main obstacle for people to support media independence?