RESTRICTING the May 18 Parliament sitting to official media only will again make Malaysia “a laughing stock” to the rest of the world, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said.
He said the one-day sitting was already a mockery of parliamentary oversight and the latest move to limit the sitting’s coverage to only Bernama and RTM is “adding salt to injury”.
“I do not believe that it is impossible to accommodate the media’s request to ensure full access to Parliament, while adhering to effective ‘social distancing’ measures for the parliamentary session on May 18.
“I call on Parliament to discuss with media representatives to ensure parliamentary coverage on May 18 will not have to depend solely on ‘official media’,” the Iskandar Puteri MP said in a statement.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Takiyuddin Hassan at a briefing on the sitting’s agenda recently said that only official media will be allowed to report on the sitting, and other media could appeal to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker if they wanted.
The May 18 sitting is to hear the Royal Address and approve government spending on economic stimulus packages to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
In a letter to all MPs in April, the secretary of the Dewan Rakyat said no question time for MPs or motions by private members will be entertained.
These moves have been criticised by the opposition and civil society, with many pointing out that parliaments in other countries have been able to meet and conduct debates virtually.
Media advocacy groups have also condemned the decision to allow only official media to the sitting, and suggested ways that social distancing can be observed so that more media organisations can be present. – May 13, 2020.
Comments
Posted 3 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply
Posted 3 years ago by Lucky Boy · Reply
Posted 3 years ago by Kinetica Cho · Reply