DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said that his criticism of a journalist from TV3 on Tuesday was valid because the news organisation concerned is a government tool.

Lim said that while he agreed with media practitioner pressure group Geramm that the "media is not the enemy", traditional media organisations such as TV3 are controlled entirely by Najib Abdul Razak's administration.

"As such, it does not do for the opposition to take the attacks and provocation by the Najib-controlled media lying down," said Lim.

On Tuesday, a journalist from TV3 posed Lim a questioned which implied that the latter had changed his stance on the Bank Bumiputera Finance scandal and the Bank Negara's losses due to forex gambling now that he was allied with Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Lim reprimanded the journalist in public and demanded proof that his position on the two issues had wavered.

Following this, Geramm issued a statement criticising Lim for unloading on the journalist unnecessarily and that the journalist had the right to ask questions.

Misplaced notion or otherwise, Lim said he welcomed Geramm's statement because it opened up an avenue for discussion on the integrity of journalism and whether it is being abused by Putrajaya.

"Journalism is a sacred duty to uphold truth, not a tool of the regime to perpetuate lies and falsehoods, nor a political implement to dumb down Malaysians in order to stay in power," said Lim, a former journalist himself.

The BMF controversy occurred in the early 1980s shortly after Mahathir became prime minister while the Bank Negara's disastrous forex foray happened in the early 1990s.

Of late, both issues have been used by Umno agents as ammunition to question Mahathir's integrity.