DAP shocked over media blackout on demand for JE list, calls for probe
Other than the New Straits Times , Utusan Malaysia and NTV7 , no other mainstream media gave coverage to DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hocks demand for MCAs JE Humanitarian Fund name list at the latters headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Quoting reliable sources from within the media industry, Kerk stated in a malaysiakini report yesterday that a home ministry directive would be handed down to black out the news.
In the report, the DAP leader said he learnt of the blackout yesterday morning but had thought it would be limited to the Chinese dailies but later discovered that other newspapers were also issued the same directive.
A dozen journalists from NTV 7 , The Sun , Nanyang Siang Pau , Malay Mail , China Press , The Star
and Bernama , were present at his press conference after his trip to the MCA headquarters.However, apart from NTV 7 , New Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia , the story did not appear anywhere else.
It is believed that Utusan Malaysia , though not present, later called up Kerk for details.
Kerk and a group of 35 people, mostly pig farmers and widows of Nipah victims from Bukit Pelanduk, went to the MCA headquarters to get the full list of recipients of the MCA JE Humanitarian Fund, but were disappointed when the party refused to accede to their demand.
MCA recently disbursed RM21,000 each to 25 people in Bukit Pelanduk. The farmers claimed that some of the recipients were not entitled to the support.
Investigate directive
In a press statement today, Kerk expressed shock over the directive. The visit to the MCA headquarters was not a security problem and if there was any problem it was a political embarrassment caused to the MCA, he said.
According to Kerk, Deputy Home Ministers Zainal Abidin Zin and Chor Chee Heung had denied issuing the directive.
He added that Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had only returned from his trip to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Australia last night.
In view of this, Kerk called on Abdullah to investigate the matter and to discipline the officer who made the phone calls to the news editors.
Abdullah should also find out who directed that such phone calls be made, he added.
The abuse of such power to interfere into media freedom is a very serious matter and I hope the home minister will inform the Parliament the result of this investigation, said Kerk who is also MP for Kota Melaka.
The DAP leader also called on the home ministry to be professional in handling such matters and to ensure that all communications to newspapers be done in black and white.
A similar media blackout occurred last January, when mainstream papers were told to spike a story on Chinese education group Dong Lian being barred from holding a closed-door meeting on the status of the Chee Wen primary school.
The Sun had inadvertently carried the story via a Bernama report and was later chided by home ministry officials.
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