The Role of Communication in Development of Malaysia: A Historical Review and Analysis on Legal System and Future Perspective

The purpose of this article is to analyze the Communication System in Malaysia and the role it has played in the process of development in the history of this country, especially after independent in 1957. Based on the finding of this study, the state of communication and media in Malaysia can be traced from two perspectives: 1-official point of view which is looking at media from the realities and demands of local geo-political situation for national development and 2- Alternative point of view which looking at media from western prescription and global standard of media in this county.
From the official point of view, which is represented by the prolonged government coalition, media and communication cannot be independent like what so called "fourth estate" in Western context; rather it is part of the "national politics of development" which must play role as an agent for social, cultural and political changes in parallel with other aspects of the society.
According to the alternative point of view, in contract, communication and media must be considered as "fourth estate" and its obedience and forcing them to play role as an instrument of policy for the current status quo is not acceptable.
Historically, media and communication in Malaysia has been caught between these two trends and unbalanced status between them have had major impact on the quality and quantity of media development, legislation and media regulation and the roles that have been determined for the media in the process of national development.
This article, however, without considering the above mentioned trends and their philosophical assumptions, is an historical investigation and analysis on the role of media and communication system in development of Malaysia, and also try to provide a comprehensive picture of what has happened to the media, mechanism of media and communication control, state of ownership, media system and communication legislation. As a conclusion, it is also an effort to highlight the most challenges that this country currently is facing after the emergence of globalization and age of information.