"The Indonesian press is in a truly free realm with no one able to control it and each member of the press standing alone. All discussions and debates have also been in depth", he said in Batam on Sunday.
He said this during the "Afternoon Tea" event between him and his Indonesian counterpart, Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Rudiantara. This was part of the events for the 2015 National Press Day in the Riau Islands.
He said that Malaysia too is learning through the process of a more liberal media environment. However, he said that in his neighboring country there are constraints due to its society, which is comprised of various ethnic groups, nations, with each having their own sensitivities.
"But we will learn and try to control it in the best way possible", he added.
In line with this, General Manager of the Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia (Bernama) (Malaysian national news agency), Zulkifli Salleh, said that the Indonesian media does indeed give the impression of being more enthusiastic. This is evident from the media having become the fourth pillar in this democratic country.
"This is very good. Hopefully we can adopt this enthusiasm in Malaysia", he said.
Malaysia has learned many things from Indonesia since the 1970s. These include how to manage large state and private plantations from PT Perkebunan (Persero), and Petronas, which modeled its national oil revenue sharing scheme on that of PT Pertamina.
In both these sectors, the student eventually outperformed the teacher. Petronas is now the main sponsor for a Formula 1 racing team because of its wealth and business profits.
Editor: Ade Marboen
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