Safeguarding Media Freedom Recipe For Good Governance

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Like it or lump it, the Madani government’s image sharply deteriorated when police decided to summon three Malaysiakini journalists over a news report on a possible Bukit Aman reshuffle.
To add insult to injury, the investigating officer reportedly sought the identity of the source quoted in the article. To their credit, the three reporters - B Nantha Kumar, Hariz Mohd and Shahrin Aizat Noorshahrizam - stood firm in not revealing the source’s identity. Kudos to these three heroes.
I think S Thayaparan rightly hit the right nail on the head when he posed this relevant question: “Why is it so controversial when the press reports on a possible shake-up in the upper echelons of the police?”
The whole issue erupted when Malaysiakini published an article about Bukit Aman allegedly planning a major reshuffle of its top officers, including Deputy Inspector-General Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
In denying the truth of such a report, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain stated that Bukit Aman had not issued an official statement on the matter. Hence in the eyes of the police, the status of the report was a mere speculation.
As if such a denial is not sufficient, the police regrettably switched to another gear by summoning the aforementioned three journalists. Many view the police action as highly unnecessary.
Is writing speculative reports a crime?
For the sake of argument, let us assume that Malaysiakini did indulge in penning the speculative article. Is such an article per se an actionable crime under the law?
With the greatest respect to our police force, I don’t think the journalists have committed any crime so much so the police must summon them, let alone urge them to disclose their sources. The protection of sources is a sine qua non of journalism.
(Left to right) Malaysiakini journalists Shahrin Aizat Noorshahrizam, Hariz Mohd, and B Nantha KumarAs far as I know, no law in our country criminalises speculative reports in the media. At least not yet. After all, as rightly pointed out by a veteran journalist, writing speculative pieces is not a new phenomenon in journalism.
He also said that “journalists speculate about almost everything including possible reshuffles in the cabinet line-up or leadership changes in corporations”. Judging by this statement we may reasonably infer that writing speculative pieces has never been a problem let alone a crime.
In trying his best to defend the police action, a minister reportedly remarked, “I emphasise that journalists have the right to report, but the police also have the right to investigate. It is not a matter of contradiction. If you make a report and you stand by your report and stand by your source, then when asked, answer. Not an issue.”
With due respect, I am afraid the minister was unnecessarily confused. While he was right in saying that journalists have the right to report, he was definitely wrong to claim that the police have the right to investigate. Police investigation presupposes the existence of crime. The question is what crime did Malaysiakini commit in this case?
Right not to answer cops
It is truly puzzling when the minister seemed to have unduly trivialised the sanctity of protecting sources in journalism so much so he dared to suggest that the three journalists answer the police question by revealing their sources.
Inspector-General of Police Razarudin HusainAs the minister is not exposed to legal knowledge, we may excuse him for being unaware that those who have been summoned by the police under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) have every right not to answer the police’s questions in certain circumstances.
As a former trial lawyer, I represented many clients in this kind of case including several ministers in the Madani government.
It is hoped that the government will not be given free rein to indulge in a culture of silencing the media.
In 2020, Prof Edward L Carter and lawyer Rosalie Westenskow, inter alia, penned this statement - “Khashoggi’s last column, published posthumously in the Washington Post, was eerily prescient: ‘Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate’.” - Mkini
MOHAMED HANIPA MAIDIN is a former deputy de facto law minister.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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