‘Don’t restrict journalists to Parliament dungeon’

IPOH: The new Parliament speaker must review the ruling that limits media access in Parliament, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said yesterday.

He urged the new Speaker, Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, to reverse the ruling by his predecessor Tan Sri Pandikar Amin, who had placed a restriction on journalists “to a ‘dungeon’ on the lower floor, as some reporters used to put it”.

“This ruling was in line with the former BN government rule, which prevented the truth of many issues from surfacing. Just look at the amount of debt the new government is dealing with, and you will get my point,” he said in a statement.

“The new speaker needs to review the ruling and allow reporters the freedom to cover the lobby to interview MPs and ministers, which will be in line with the new government’s assurance to uphold democracy.”

There should also be no restrictions on press freedom, although the speaker could ask for decorum from the press and their organisations when they are allowed at the lobby, he said.

“I want to see Malaysia’s press freedom improve and to speak out against crackdowns on journalists.”

The press should also be allowed to use the minister’s press conference room to conduct interviews, he said.

Additionally, he called on unions for journalists to be given a chance to be heard before any decision or law about the media is made. – by P. Chandra Sagaran