FREE-TO-AIR channel Awesome TV has said its Berita 757 report on the alleged axing of civil servants was manipulated by certain parties. 

The private television channel said it has no interest other than playing the role of a transparent and sincere news outlet. 

“News 757 reported that observers suggested that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim evaluate and restructure the number of civil servants from 1.6 million to 800,000 because the total annual expenditure of civil servants has reached a high value of RM114.9 billion. 

“This follows a report by The Edge titled ‘Reducing Government Opex Warrants a Look Into Emoluments’ dated February 15, 2023. 

“However, some social media practitioners have manipulated the Berita 757 report resulting in Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil issuing a statement that Berita 757 had made a false and slanderous report,” Awesome TV said in a statement. 

The news outlet said the issue became a hot topic when irresponsible social media users manipulated the information. 

This included former Umno supreme council member Lokman Adam who issued a false statement associating Awesome TV with Astro and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

“This is not true at all. Awesome TV has nothing to do with Astro or any political party. 

“We strongly reject Lokman’s statement that tried to link this news with the issue of racial sentiments. This is a provocation,” said Awesome TV. 

Yesterday, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it was opening an investigation paper on Awesome TV over its news report, which alleged the number of civil servants would be reduced. 

The investigation would be carried out under Section 206 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for failure to comply with the conditions of its licence. 

Yesterday, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil was reported to have said that MCMC would hold a meeting with Awesome TV to seek clarification regarding the news report. 

MCMC said it takes complaints seriously and is committed to improving the level of compliance by content and applications service providers. – February 21, 2023.