Media

Malaysia's main newspapers are owned by the government and political parties in the ruling coalition,^[203] although some major opposition parties also have their own.^[204] A divide exists between the media in the two halves of the country. Peninsular-based media gives low priority to news from the East, and often treats the eastern states as colonies of the Peninsula.^[205] The media have been blamed for increasing tension between Indonesia and Malaysia, and giving Malaysians a bad image of Indonesians.^[206] The country has Malay, English, Chinese, and Tamil dailies.^[205]
There is very little freedom of the press, leading to very little government accountability.^[207] The government has previously tried to crack down on opposition papers before elections.^[204] In 2007, a government agency issued a directive to all private television and radio stations to refrain from broadcasting speeches made by opposition leaders,^[208] a move condemned by politicians from the opposition Democratic Action Party.^[209] Sabah, where all tabloids but one are independent of government control, has the freest press in Malaysia.^[205] Laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act have also been cited as curtailing freedom of expression.^[210]