BATU PAHAT: Making comparisons to the previous administration will not help improve the government's image, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic).
"It is the responsibility of the government to make improvements based on any criticism made," said the MCA president.
"We have to take all opinions into account and comparing ourselves to 'those days' is irrelevant because it has passed and not the same as what we have today," he said at the Ayer Hitam MP and Yong Peng assemblyman Hari Raya open house at Taman Kota Industrial Area here on Saturday (May 4).
He said this when asked to comment on Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil's statement on Malaysia's drop in the World Press Freedom Index, saying that it is still better under the current unity government compared to the previous government.
Dr Wee added that press freedom was one of the promises made by the unity government.
He said any developed and democratic country, the media is the 'fourth estate' and a yardstick of how free its media is.
He added that dropping 34 places to 107 in the recent 2024 World Press Freedom Index Report compared to 73 last year is very significant and an issue that should be addressed.
Meanwhile, more than 3,000 people attended the open house event.
Also present were Yong Peng assemblyman Ling Tian Soon, who is also the Johor health and environmental committee chairman and Semarang assemblyman Datuk Samsolbari Jamali who is also the Johor Deputy Speaker.
Dr Wee also entertained guests by singing the song "Suci Dalam Debu" by Iklim.
"I wanted to test my voice because KJ (Khairy Jamaluddin) has invited me to be on his 'Keluar Sekejap' podcast this Monday (May 6)," he quipped.
