Govt Must Explain Harakah S Media Pass Revocation

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 The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) has serious concerns over the Information Department’s decision to revoke the media passes of Harakah and Harakah Daily.
It is of grave concern that there is no transparency and clarity on the process of how the decision was made.
It was reported that the Information Department had taken the decision to revoke the media passes without prior warning.
It is unclear if the Harakah media group was given the opportunity to present their case; take any corrective actions such as removing the impugned content; or on how they can access their right to appeal this decision.
Our concerns are amplified by the Information Department's failure to provide any clear and specific reasons for its decision.
The department's vague statement that the publications had "gone against journalism ethics" does not meet the acceptable standards of natural justice and due process.
The government must uphold international standards of legitimacy, necessity and proportionality in its decision to restrict or censor the media.
We reiterate our call for the government to be transparent about the processes and mechanisms of how decisions are made, especially when it relates to restricting media access.
Failure to uphold international standards and due process raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to media freedom and freedom of expression.
Ethical and responsible reporting
While we demand the protection of the rights and guarantee of an independent and enabling environment for media, it is also the responsibility of the press to contribute to the strengthening of peace, democracy and respect of the rights of all.
This includes measures to counter racism, radicalism, disinformation and hate speech, amongst others, in carrying out their role as the fourth estate.
In this regard, it is incumbent on Harakah to avoid sensationalism and clickbaits, and to focus instead on high ethical standards of journalism based on principles of truth and accuracy, fairness and impartiality, humanity and accountability.
Media, regardless of its partisan nature, should uphold these principles, and critically so on matters of public interest by being factual, accurate and reliable.
Expedite establishment of media council
As such, we urge the government to expedite the establishment of the Malaysian Media Council, as a transparent, self-regulatory body for the industry.
It is imperative that no government representatives sit in the decision-making body of the council in order to promote its independence and gain the trust of the public.
We have made this call on numerous occasions as it ensures the government does not remain the sole arbiter of the truth and prevents the censorship of the media by actors with political expediency.
It further prevents issues like this from occurring as it provides a legitimate space for consultation and deliberation.
In this case, a media council would have been in a better position to deliberate on this issue and provide the necessary mechanism for reviewing and resolving the dispute in an impartial, independent and transparent manner, placing ethical reporting and due process at the centre of the matter.
We hope to see a commitment from the government and the media to enshrining press freedom and preserving the media in its role as the fourth estate.
Press freedom is an extension of the freedom of expression - which is the right bestowed upon every person. - Mkini
WATHSHLAH G NAIDU is the executive director of CIJ.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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