PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang visited malaysiakini 's office in Bangsar Utama, Kuala Lumpur, for the first time today.

The former Terengganu menteri besar, who was clad in a light brown jubah, arrived at about 10am and was welcomed by malaysiakini editors and journalists led by editor-in-chief Steven Gan.

During the two-hour visit, Hadi was shown the editorial floor as well as the administration, marketing and the information technology departments located on the first floor.

Malaysiakini chief executive officer Premesh Chandran briefed Hadi on the online daily's operations.

The PAS president was accompanied by his press secretary, Roslan Shahir, Chinese media liaison officer Hu Pang Chaw, Kelantan senator Mumtaz Md Nawi and PAS central working committee member Dr Lo' Lo' Ghazali ( photo below ).

Dialogue session

In a dialogue session held in the daily news website's conference room, the PAS delegation and malaysiakini editors and journalists exchanged views on several matters.

Among the issues discussed were the Islamic-based opposition party's preparation for the next general elections, the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and PAS' policies on a number of religious issues including the Islamic state.

Hadi, who is said to be a tech-savvy politician and was the first PAS leader to use email, was asked on his views regarding malaysiakini .

"I hope that malaysiakini will continue to be a courageous media that fights for democracy," he said.

"During the time of Suharto, there were Indonesian journalists who were put in jail because of their bold coverage - of course, I am not saying that malaysiakini journalists should be imprisoned," he quipped.

Photos by Fauwaz Abdul Aziz

Watch the one-minute clip here