When can our newspapers stop being controlled by the government?

I read, with mixed feelings of amusement and disgust, an article in The Star today about the eloquent Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Kelantan Mentri Besar, who is advising women to wear less revealing clothes so that the sex crime rate can be curbed.

While his comment, as reported in the newspapers, is ridiculous, I find it amusing. What disgusted me was the suspicion that The Star is consistently reporting such ridiculous comments from the MB, comments which I'm not really sure are true. Perhaps, there is a modicum of truth in his statements but freedom of the press is not practised here in this country and so I feel pity that the MB may have been painted in a dark light, probably very unfairly so.

I'm sure if I read the Malay newspapers in Kelantan, the MB will be shown in a very positive light and the impression a visitor may get is that he is a good spiritual leader, much respected by the community.

Would like to hear from people living in Kelantan on what the MB actually said and in what context. Frequently, communications as a tool obfuscates the real meaning.