Behave professionally in lobby, media staff told

KUALA LUMPUR: Media personnel at the Parliament building should behave professionally when approaching lawmakers at the lobby, or risk being restricted from the area.

Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said the current lobby restriction, imposed by the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government, only allows press conferences to be held in the media room located a distance away from the entrance of the building.

He said he has temporarily lifted the ruling and made several changes on July 18, including allocating a specific area in the lobby for pressmen to speak to MPs.

However, he expressed regret that this privilege had been abused by certain media personnel.

“There were a few individuals who still (gathered) in front of the Dewan’s door and not at the allocated spot, causing a somewhat chaotic (situation) when attempting to (approach) MPs.

“My deputy speakers and I are (keen) to maintain this ruling of allowing media in the lobby. But if there is no cooperation and this goes on, I’m afraid this privilege will be revoked.

“We have allocated space for you, so I hope the media will abide by it. I leave it to you to fix this situation and hope you appreciate what we are doing,” he said at a briefing for senior editors in Parliament yesterday.

Mohamad Ariff said apart from the media, there were also other individuals using the lobby, including lawmakers, government officials and visitors, and the unruly behaviour of some media personnel could cause inconvenience to others in the area.

“I urge the media to cooperate with us. We are trying to fulfil your requests, but we hope you will also work together with us.

“It is my hope that the media understands this and ensure the area is always conducive, comfortable and safe one for all,” he said.