Dewan speaker pressured from top to rein in press?

MP SPEAKS When Parliament speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia made a ruling to ban journalists from the hallway outside the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, he said it was for security reasons. He also said when journalists converged at the hallway, they turn the area into something like a picnic area.

Yesterday, two senior press secretaries of the prime minister and deputy prime minister, respectively, were seen “advising” journalists to accept the ban. Malaysiakini quoted one of them as saying that the ruling was “to avoid situations where ministers and lawmakers are unable to give answers, or are misquoted”.

The report quoted Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad as telling the journalists: “We don't want because of the (media) ambush, where the minister or the MP, is caught in a situation where there is misinformation in their response.”

Here are the problems with the ruling and the attempt to justify the ruling from the staff of the Prime Minister’s Office.

First, the hallway of Dewan Rakyat has traditionally been the area for journalists to wait and interview all the MPs. This kind of quick interview is meant for MPs, including ministers and deputy ministers, to clarify certain issues that he or she had mentioned inside the Dewan Rakyat.

This “door stop” interview will only take a minute or two, as opposed to a proper press conference that may take up between 15 minutes and half an hour.

Second, using the word “security” on journalists is a flimsy excuse. The speaker doesn’t have to protect the ministers and deputy ministers. The very strict and restrictive laws of Malaysia have already guaranteed that the mass media will always be under the watchful eye of the government.

MPs, media should discuss

Third, although it may be seen as “giving advice” to journalists, I am concerned with senior press secretaries of the prime minister telling journalists what they should do, can do or must do, when dealing with ministers and deputy ministers.

Isn’t it enough that we have strict laws to control the media, that now the journalists have to listen to the “advice” of the Prime Minister’s Office on matters pertaining to the Parliament?

I suspect the speaker is under pressure by the prime minister, as evident by the aides of the PM and DPM meddling in this affair, and I hope Pandikar will stand up to the executive. I sincerely believe Pandikar should rise to the occasion to exert his parliamentary leadership, and not to succumb to pressure from the executive.

I also propose that Pandikar calls for a meeting of the bipartisan house committee to deliberate on the matter, and also conduct a hearing involving journalists to work out an arrangement to resume the tradition.

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LIEW CHIN TONG is Kluang MP.- Mkini