Malaysia promises press freedom--report - AFP

KUALA LUMPUR--Malaysia's home minister has pledged to review the country's repressive media laws, promising to boost press freedom, a report said Sunday.

"I have told my officers that I want to have a re-look at the Printing Presses and Publications Act so that we can move with the times," Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying in the Star daily.

He was referring to legislation that requires newspapers and other publications to apply for licenses that are renewed annually.

He added that a publishing permit had been approved for the opposition Keadilan party's newspaper. The party had been applying since its formation in 1999.

Malaysia's media are largely state-linked and kept on a tight leash.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks the country 124 out of 169 on its worldwide press freedom index, and says the main media are "often compelled to ignore or to play down the many events organized by the opposition."

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