PARLIAMENT One of the main causes of Malaysia’s dismal 145th ranking in the World Press Freedom Index last year was the violence suffered by media personnel at the hands of demonstrators during the Bersih 3.0 rally last April, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

NONEHe told Parliament that the drop in ranking, from 122 to 145, the country’s worst placing since the annual index began in 2002, had nothing to do with the government’s control over the media.

“It has nothing to do with the government as it involved the safety of the reporters who were allegedly beaten up by demonstrators. It sparked a safety concern among media personnel,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

He was responding to a supplementary question by Raime Unggi (BN-Tenom) on the reason for the drop in ranking and if Bernama TV had been fair to both sides of the political divide in its coverage.

While stating the ministry is looking at restructuring Bernama TV, he reportedly stated that the latter had provided “fair and in-depth coverage” to opposition party DAP's recent central executive committee (CEC) re-election.

In the April 28 rally, at least 10 journalists alleged that they were harassed, beaten, arrested or hit by tear gas canisters, all but one at the hands of the police.

They include The Sun reporter Mohd Radzi Razak, Malaysiakini photographer and reporter Koh Jun Lin, Makkal Osai photographer P Malayandy, Al Jazeera’s camera crew led by correspondent Harry Fawcett, Guang Ming Daily photographer Huang An Jian, Channel News Asia videographer Kenny Lew, Merdeka Review assistant editor Chen Shaua Fui, and The Malaysian Insider reporter Lisa J Ariffin.

Newspapers are reaping what they sow