Journos have right to report, cops, to investigate - Fahmi

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has defended his stance on police having the right to probe, likening it to journalists having the right to write news reports.

Speaking to reporters, Fahmi said the government is always committed to honouring the journalistic code of ethics on the right to protect anonymous sources but reiterated that media personnel should cooperate with any police investigation.

"If we refer to the published journalism code of ethics, we affirm that journalists have the right to protect the confidentiality of their sources. This is not a problem.

"At the same time, we have mentioned that, in this instance, cooperation with the police is necessary. This is because, according to the regulations, if there is a police report, the police must investigate," he said after flagging off Kembara Merdeka 2024 convoy participants in Kuala Lumpur today.

The government's spokesperson was responding to the issue of three Malaysiakini journalists who were questioned at the Dang Wangi police headquarters yesterday over a story quoting sources of an alleged plot by Bukit Aman to reshuffle some of its top-ranking officers.

The trio, B Nantha Kumar, Hariz Mohd and Shahrin Aizat Noorshahrizam, refused to give up their sources during the over-an-hour questioning.

Media freedom organisations such as Gerakan Media Merdeka and the National Union of Journalists Malaysia criticised the government over the investigation, stating that they oppose any effort that may threaten the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of anonymous sources.

Media freedom

When asked how yesterday's matter would affect Malaysia's media freedom standing in the World Press Freedom Index, Fahmi said the performance index is not based on how the country performs but relative to other nations.

Citing Reporters Without Borders (RSF), he said Malaysia's performance had probably stayed on the same matrix, but other countries might have improved significantly, causing Malaysia to fall behind.

"The ranking does not truly reflect what is happening in the country, but rather what is happening worldwide.

"So, if you stay at one place (ranking), certain countries move up, and you'll go down. That's the explanation," he added.

Malaysia's ranking fell 34 places to 107th this year from 73rd last year.

The World Press Freedom Index 2024 reported that Malaysia's score is at 52.07 points compared with 62.83 last year.

Last year, Malaysia saw a notable leap of 40 places to 73rd in the World Press Freedom Index, up from 113th in 2022 (51.55 points).

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