No 'doctoring' of photo, says Bernama editor-in-chief

Suggestions by some quarters that Bernama had “doctored” a picture taken at the 2012 Aidilfitri open house of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in Putrajaya are utterly absurd, says its editor-in-chief, Yong Soo Heong. 

“Time is of the essence for a professional and responsible news organisation like Bernama and we do not have the time to indulge in irrational endeavours,” he said, adding that the photo unit of the national news agency had just been equipped with modern and state-of-the-art cameras and lenses this year. 

Yong said the original of the picture in question, which showed a large and enthusiastic crowd at the prime minister’s open house, can be viewed by anyone at Bernama’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. 

He said mammoth crowds at the prime minister’s Aidilfitri open house had been the norm since Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the prime minister three decades ago, starting with the old Seri Perdana in Damansara and the current Seri Perdana in Putrajaya. 

On Sept 1, an opposition senator had issued a statement claiming that the picture which had appeared in a number of newspapers had been “doctored” by an amateur graphic artist and that open house pictures should have depicted the young, old and the disabled in wheelchairs.    

Yong said the photographer, Harry Salzman Abu Bakar, who had taken pictures of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, British Prime Minister David Cameron and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in the past without any problems, had used his creativity to depict the large crowd of well-wishers, especially the young, who had come to the open house to meet the prime minister.

Other than that picture, which showed the enthusiastic crowd, Harry Salzman had also taken other pictures of the function, including some showing the prime minister waving to those present.

“One cannot deny that Datuk Seri Najib is a crowd-puller, not just at his own Aidilfitri open house but at other public events as well, because pictures and video footages from other news organisations can also testify to that,” Yong said.      

- Bernama