Media cannot reveal identity of bribe givers

SHAH ALAM - Media practitioners have no authority to disclose the identity of bribe givers if they have not been found guilty yet as it is a principle of news reporting based on facts.

Selangor, Federal Territories and Putrajaya Rasuah Busters chairman Associate Professor Dr Hamdan Daniel said the media must adhere to the ethical principle of accurate reporting, where they only report based on statements and decisions of the authorities.

"In this case, we certainly want their identities to be revealed to the public as one way to educate society to stay away from such offences.

"However, we need to understand that the media's duty is to report news based on information received from the authorities," he told Sinar.

On Dec 26, last year, it was reported that former Cheras Umno division chief Datuk Seri Syed Ali Al-Habshee questioned why only the identity of bribe receivers were publicly disclosed, while bribe givers rarely received the attention.

He said the identity of bribe givers seemed to be intentionally kept away from the public's knowledge.

He also claimed that the perception worsened when the media seemingly exaggerated reports on bribe receivers.

Commenting on the statement, Hamdan said the media could not simply disclose the identity of bribe givers if they have not been found guilty yet.

"If they (the media) take this action, it proves that the local media lacks ethics in news reporting.

"However, I support revealing the identity of bribe givers, but let the authorities perform their duties first. If they have been found guilty, then we can expose who they are," he said.