COMMENT | At the heart of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s speech during the National Journalists’ Day 2025 was a powerful message: media freedom is a pillar of democracy that must be preserved.

His words resonated with the ideals of press liberty, echoing the philosophies of Noam Chomsky and Thomas Jefferson on the perils of “manufacturing consent” and “tyranny of the majority”.

But beyond the grandeur of the podium and the eloquence of democratic aspirations, one must ask: Is there real media freedom in Malaysia? Or is it still a freedom carefully rationed, enjoyed only within the invisible lines drawn by power?