Political parties should not interfere in media organisations

SHAH ALAM - Pakatan Harapan (PH) is of the view that political parties should not interfere in the affairs of media organisations.

It said in a statement today that this was a bad sign on the perception of the freedom of reporting as well as the political agenda of the media organisation in the future.

"Yesterday, it was reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has guaranteed press freedom.

"Although the guarantee was well received, the reality is not as good as it looks. A few days ago, we read about the appointment of the new New Straits Times (NST) newspaper group editor, which various parties including a veteran journalist alleged was a result of political interference.

"This is very unfortunate and PH is of the view that political parties should not interfere in media organisations' affairs especially like what we are seeing now," it said.

It said it also regretted the government's action through the deputy public prosecutor that charged two media practitioners from financial publication The Edge under Section 500 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation.

"The charge is in relation to a series of articles published by The Edge relating to penny stock manipulations by certain paties in Bursa Malaysia.

"We demand the government to withdraw the criminal charge. If the affected party had wished to file a lawsuit, they could have done it against the media," it said.

It said media played an important role especially in the check and balance effort besides ensuring the transparency of the governance, including the economic field.

"Therefore, the guarantee by the Prime Minister needs to be expressed through actions which are in line with the guarantee," it said.