‘GOVT CAN TAKE OVER PRIVATE STATIONS’
Minister lays out hypothetical situation where Angkasapuri is closed due to Covid-19 infections
ASTATE of Emergency will enable the government to temporarily take over private television stations if necessary. Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said three Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) stations in Sabah were temporarily closed when 12 newsmen there tested positive for Covid-19 during the state election last year.
This forced other employees to take their swab test and undergo quarantine, hence the stations there were unable to function, he said.
During that period, the minister said, the broadcast was from Angkasapuri.
“Recently, a number of the crew here (Angkasapuri) tested positive. What will happen if Angkasapuri had to be closed if many are quarantined?
“As a minister, can I seek other stations’ help? But during the Emergency, we have the power to temporarily take over private stations.
“If not, the government cannot operate through an official channel,” he told a press conference after the Jelajah Malaysia Prihatin programme at the Sentul Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) here yesterday.
Saifuddin, however, stressed that the government would not want to go to such an extent and explained that this was similar to the move by the government to take over private hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients.
Saifuddin also urged ministers to go to the ground and meet grassroots leaders to explain the need to have the State of Emergency.
“It is not for other intentions, but to ensure that work can be done smoothly,” he added.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said he wanted to be vaccinated for Covid-19 together with members of the press.
For this, the minister said he had requested for the Sinovac vaccine, but no date had been fixed yet by the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee.
“I should have been vaccinated by now, but I have requested to do it with the reporters. It will be done in batches as there are quite a lot of newsmen, ” he said.
Saifuddin said that a request had initially been made to have members of the media to be included in the group to be vaccinated under the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, but this could not be done.
“We understand that journalists and photographers are on the ground meeting people. There have also been (Covid-19) cases involving them,” he said, adding that efforts were ongoing to allow members of the press to be vaccinated soon.