New media rules in Parliament to stifle reporting, say MPs

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia wants Parliament to run its own affairs without answering to a minister. His reforms have yet to be implemented. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 14, 2015.

New arrangements for press personnel reporting on parliamentary proceedings will isolate them in a separate building away from where legislative sittings are held, limiting the media’s access to lawmakers while also making it harder for MPs to hold briefings.

The move has been criticised by two MPs, one from the ruling Barisan Nasional and the other, an opposition MP.

PKR lawmaker Chua Tian Chang called it an attempt by Putrajaya to prevent the media from reporting on critical issues.

A circular on the new arrangements issued by Parliament’s corporate communications division, sighted by The Malaysian Insider, was released on October 1.

It said media personnel covering parliamentary meetings will have to operate from another building away from the main building housing the Dewan Rakyat.

The change takes effect on Monday, when the Dewan Rakyat convenes for its last meeting of the year.

It is learnt that the order had come from the new minister in charge of parliamentary affairs, Datuk Azalina Othman Said, who took over the portfolio from Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim following a cabinet reshuffle in July.

A source said Azalina, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had forwarded a proposal to implement the new arrangement at a cabinet meeting two weeks ago.

Under the previous arrangement, the media could work from a press room as well as in the lobby outside the doors of the Dewan Rakyat. There was also a space in the lobby where MPs could give press conferences, and lawmakers and journalists were free to talk to each other.

The media will now have to congregate and work out of a designated room in a separate building. No reason for the move was stated in the circular.

Azalina, who is also the Pengerang MP, refused to respond to questions by The Malaysian Insider on the matter.

Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club deputy president Datuk Bung Moktar Radin told The Malaysian Insider that he has not been informed of the new arrangements, with which he said he disagreed.

He said it would mean that the area where press conferences and where the media worked would now be too far from where the Dewan Rakyat met.

“I do not know about this move and I do not agree that the media be too far away from the hall,” he said.

Chua, also known as Tian Chua, said the move was to stifle the freedom of the media, especially those critical of the government.

The Batu MP said Azalina’s new order would make it harder for the press to report on critical issues raised in the Dewan Rakyat.

“It really does seem that they are trying to stifle the voice of the media in Parliament. 

“We see that they are not only trying to push the media away but they are also making it hard for us to hold press conferences because they would now be seated far away,” the PKR vice-president said.

This was also not in line with the parliamentary reforms proposed by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, Tian Chua said.

“The speaker had previously wanted some reforms in Parliament but this move is contradictory to what he said. 

“If there are to be some reforms, it should include supporting media access in Parliament, arranging facilities for them and not blocking them.”

Tian Chua said that he would raise the matter when the Dewan Rakyat begins sitting next week.

His views were echoed by DAP’s Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari, who said the new arrangements did not make sense, as it would be harder to hold press conferences now.

“For example, after a heated debate, we (parliamentarians) will go out and give additional comments and make clarifications to the press.

“But now, we would have to walk really far to do so and then we would need to walk back,” Zairil said.

As one of the many lawmakers active in holding press conferences at the Parliament lobby, he said, the order would not bring any benefits and would, in fact, worsen things.

Pandikar had proposed reforms earlier this year after it was revealed by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the Dewan Rakyat Speaker was planning to resign over unhappiness with Putrajaya.

Admitting later that he had contemplated quitting, Pandikar said it was not because he did not see eye-to-eye with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, but because he was disappointed at being unable to carry out reforms in Parliament.

Among the reforms was the removal of the minister in charge of Parliament so that it could be fully in charge of its own administration.

The minister with this portfolio is usually a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. 

Pandikar met with Najib and the prime minister reportedly agreed with his recommendations to improve parliamentary proceedings.

- TMI