Bernama News Channel has decided to revoke the suspension against its 'Ruang Bicara' host Dahlan Maamor, effective yesterday, said its acting director of operation Hakimi Zuffrida Mohd Zain.

“But we decided yesterday that one week is enough, he can come back to work, he can be on air again,” he told Malaysiakini.

He also confirmed that disciplinary action was taken on the host for sharing on Facebook the views of lawyer Adnan Seman who recommended that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak seriously consider resigning if it can unite his party.

“When we gave him the suspension letter last week, we did not indicate a date (on the suspension period) because we had to discuss it in a meeting.

“But we have decided today that one week was enough, he can come back to work. He can be on air again,” he told Malaysiakini today.

Hakimi however explained that Dahlan was suspended because ‘Bernama TV’ and ‘Ruang Bicara’ logos had appeared in his Oct 26 Facebook posting.

Meanwhile, another Bernama TV official who spoke on condition of anonymity said what Dahlan did was unethical and unfair to the entire organisation.

“We are Bernama. We serve the government of the day and Najib is the leader of the government of the day.

“If he wants to condemn the prime minister, that’s up to him. But, don’t do it with our name at stake. He put our organisation at stake,” he added.

“If you do this in text without naming Bernama and its programme, that’s fine. That’s his opinion, not ours. As an employee and representative of the organisation, you have to adhere to certain rules and regulations when you sign a contract. You cannot do things against your company.”

According to Hakimi, Dahlan’s suspension on Oct 26 was done for the sake of the company.

“We just did what is the best for the company at that time and at that moment,” Hakimi said.

On a Facebook posting tonight, Dahlan said, “BNC has revoked its suspension penalty against me immediately.

“To avoid confusion and inaccurate news, I hereby confirm that the Bernama general manager Zulkifli Salah called me to convey the outcome,” he said.

“We have spoken and I agreed with the decision. Weaknesses are all around. We should accept it as a useful lesson,” he said.