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Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Media working, not picnicking, Pandikar told



PKR's Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar today condemned Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia for banning media from the Parliament hallway. 
She said reporters gather at the hallway not to "picnic" as accused by the speaker, but to do their duty as journalists. 
"I am disappointed with Pandikar’s unsubstantiated and irresponsible allegations that the media has turned the lobby into a “picnic area”. 
"Diligent reporters frequent the Parliament every sitting day, regardless of the legislation debated or the issue trending. 
"That the media crew members spend their working hours at the corridors, as opposed to a fully-equipped media centre, only highlights the impracticality and ineffectiveness of the Parliament’s current facilities," she said in a statement. 
Pandikar yesterday imposed the ban, arguing that reporters were harassing passing members of Parliament with unwanted questions and were "picknicking" at the hallway. 
He also said no other Parliament in the world allows journalists to doorstop ministers. 
Media personnel are only allowed in the media room, to follow proceedings via live stream, or cover scheduled press conferences in the designated area. 
However, Nurul Izzah said the "vastly increased" distance between the new media centre and the Parliament's sitting area reduced chances of journalists to directly interact with MPs and ministers. 
Direct access to sources is crucial so they can verify information and report credible news, she said. 
"Similarly, as an MP, it is inconvenient and a waste of time to travel between distant locations to fulfil both our responsibilities to attend parliamentary sitting and conduct press briefings. 
"It seems timely to remind Pandikar that for the MPs and cabinet members to be answerable to the rakyat who elected them, the media must be allowed to act effectively as the conduit between," she said. 

She also raised concern that the ban was "another attempt to crack down on freedom of the press in Malaysia" and urged the speaker to reverse his position. 
Representatives of media personnel in Parliament yesterday met with Pandikar to review the matter, but the speaker was unmoved. 
The decision was also condemned by the National Union of Journalists, the Institute of Journalists, the Foreign Correspondents' Club Malaysia and Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm).- Mkini

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