Umno expels, then lets Malaysiakini back into AGM venue

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Umno has retracted an order issued earlier today barring Malaysiakini journalists from entering the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) where the the three-day Umno general assembly is ongoing.

"I was informed. We told them they can come back," Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said.

He said they were originally booted out because of a report on Umno's financial statement . Also ejected were journalists from news portal The Malaysian Insider .

The journalists were sitting in the lobby of the building this morning when a member of the secretariat asked them to identify themselves and subsequently told them to leave.

"I'm sorry but these are orders from the top. You can't be in this building," he said.

The man was accompanied by another member of the secretariat as well as three security guards.

The Umno general assembly, which enters its last day today, is being held in the main hall of PWTC.

Only delayed telecats

Umno had earlier banned Malaysiakini journalists from entering the hall and the media room. Access to these areas is still restricted.

Coverage of this year's AGM has been difficult for online portals without access to the media room as most debates are not aired on the big screen set up in the lobby.

Instead, there are delayed telecasts of speeches from the day before.

This comes amid an on-going spat between Umno president Najib Abdul Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin, who has been critical of Najib and 1MDB, has himself been barred from speaking at the assembly by the Umno supreme council.

Meanwhile, Gerakan Media Marah (Geramm) criticised the attempts by Umno to block the media.

"It is expressly against the promises of the prime minister, the very astute Umno president (Najib Razak) himself, who once guaranteed media freedom, like his much celebrated promises to abolish the Emergency Ordinance, the Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act.

"This less than cavalier treatment of the media, besides denying them Umno official passes and facilities for coverage of the general assembly, speaks poorly of the level of transparency and accountability in the Malay party," it said in a statement today.

The activist group added that if indeed there was a theft (of documents on the party finances by the reporters) as alleged by Umno, it should then lodge a police report or take legal action.

"One have to wonder if the party really do have things to hide from the public that it would restrict media coverage of the meeting, just like it stopped some of its own leaders from speaking and expelled others less contented with the current party leadership," it said.

Geramm also noted other incidents at the Umno headquarters recently, including the banning of non-Muslim journalists at a Puteri Umno function and the scuffle between media and security personnel when Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin arrived.

"Geramm reiterates our view that all political parties should respect the rights to press freedom and not allow personal agendas of individual leaders to deny the public's right to information," it said.



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