The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is concerned that police in the district of Sibu, of the state Sarawak is barring crime reporters access to crime stories by reportedly introducing several restrictions and threatening to arrest them under the Official Secret Act (OSA) if they breached the restrictions. More seriously, the police directive means reporters are put in a difficult position to produce fair and balanced reports to serve the public interest.
On June 22, the Borneo Post daily (Sarawak Edition) reported that police told crime reporters they had to get police permission to write and publish a crime story. Journalists were told they could only write stories based on information given by the police and that they were not allowed to gather information from other sources or visit the crime scene. Anyone failing to observe the restrictions could be arrested under the OSA, threatened Supt Zamani Tan Sri Hamdan, who reportedly spoke on behalf of the Sibu police chief ACP Nicholas Sebastian. On top of that, reporters were prohibited from entering the compound of the Sibu police station.
Online news site Malaysiakini.com, on June 23 reported ACP Nicholas as saying that the directive came from the police headquarter Bukit Aman, at the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Federal CID Director Christopher Wan Soo Kee declined to comment when contacted by CIJ while the Federal Public Relations chief Supt. Rasdi Ramli, Supt Zamani Tan Sri Hamdan and ACP Nicholas Sebastian could not be reached despite several attempts.
As a public body, the police force has, with the restrictions, effectively prevented the media from carrying out its duties to report on matters of public interest. The restrictions paralyze a reporters’ duty to report in a fair and balanced manner. When reporters are made to wait for the police to feed them stories, their situation is not much different from that of a lap-dog journalist, albeit unwillingly. The police seems intent on imposing their version of crime stories by preventing reporters from doing their investigation. The move breeds suspicion that it has something to hide in the midst of the recent controversy about the alleged link between politicians and public figures with secret societies. The public is also prevented from assessing the performance of the police when stories are only told from the police’s point.
We urge the police not to hinder a reporter’s duty to report in a fair, balanced and objective manner. We also urge the Prime Minister (PM) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who heads the Internal Security Ministry that is responsible for the police force, to take note of the police’s restriction as it is against the PM’s pledge for transparency and integrity.
The Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia (CIJ) is a media organization that aims to improve current Malaysian journalism practice and independence through advocacy, research and analysis, training and practical work. Started in 2001, CIJ has initiated various projects in developing grassroots communications skills through training, infrastructural support and direct action.
Issued by
Gayathry Venkiteswaran
Executive Director
For more information, please contact Wai Fong at 03 40230772
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