By The Star
Monday June 2, 2008
Zaid: Media should unite for reforms
KUALA LUMPUR: Media practitioners should unite and put forward again their proposals for reforms and more press freedom, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.
Speaking at the National Press Club, the de facto law minister said just because the press had engaged the Government 10 years ago to push for media freedom, “it doesn’t mean you must stop there.???
“Try again. After all it’s part of the changing process,??? he told a gathering of journalists, writers, bloggers and civil society yesterday.
Zaid was heckled during his speech and the question-and-answer session.
He said it was easy to blame the state of the media in the country on “repressive laws??? but it was important for the press to be honest and look at itself and take responsibility.
“If you don’t want the Government to regulate, then you have to offer a solution. You have to have a better plan. You can’t just say ‘repeal, repeal, repeal’ without a mechanism in place.
“You want to change the law, by all means, make a representation. If you say it’s not your business, then whose business is it???? he said.
He said for media reforms, the press should first unite, be visible and representative of the journalism industry, then they should engage the relevant ministers.
“I don’t see any evidence of that,??? he said to a question.
However, a senior editor pointed out that the media had indeed been united on the issue of media reforms and had presented a petition with more than 800 signatures from journalists with its proposals back in 1999 to the Government.
“We have put in our proposal 10 years ago. We have tried. We have met many ministers. And we will continue to pursue it,??? said The Star group chief editor Datuk Wong Chun Wai.
To a question from Wong, Zaid said, if Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar were to propose to the Cabinet that publications be issued a one-off licence instead of the current practice of annual renewal, he (Zaid) would support it.
The talk was organised by the National Press Club, the National Union of Journalists and the Centre for Independent Journalism.
Speaking to reporters later, Zaid said he believed that the Prime Minister wanted to see reforms in all areas including the media.
“Put in the proposal again. Times are different. You (the media) should do whatever you need to do and do it and get the engagement process going in a proper way.
“Sometimes it is the way that may not be right, sometimes it’s the method, sometimes it’s the substance. But don’t lose hope,??? he said.
Related Story:
Journalists, bloggers walk to press for more freedom
By The Star
Monday June 2, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: A group of journalists and bloggers defied the police by walking together to Dataran Merdeka to push for more press freedom in the country.
The police citing traffic problems had not allowed the “Walk for Press Freedom??? which had been originally scheduled for 9am.
The walk was organised by the Writers Alliance for Media Independence, Centre for Independent Journalism, National Alliance of Bloggers, and Benar, a cybergroup championing a free and fair media.
More freedom: Journalists and bloggers gathering at Dataran Merdeka to press for more press freedom during the “Walk for Press Freedom??? event.
The walk to Dataran Merdeka took place after de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim spoke at the National Press Club. The group gathered at Dataran Merdeka but 15 minutes later a police team came and ordered them to disperse before noon “otherwise we might have to arrest you for illegal assembly.???
Before noon, the group had dispersed.
Earlier at the club, National Union of Journalist president Norila Mohd Daud urged for the repeal of the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Official Secrets Act.
She also criticised the Prime Minister’s Department for lodging a police report against the media for publishing the Royal Commission Report on the V.K. Lingam video clip before it was made public.