SHAH ALAM, 20 Dec: The former President of the National Union of Journalists, Malaysia (NUJ), Hata Wahari, urged media personnel from all agencies to rise up to defend rights and boycott coverage of government leaders who continue to be biased regarding media reports.
In a statement to the media, Hata informed that pressure on journalists and media agencies by the media should be stopped because comments in writing is one of the main tasks of the press and journalists.
“I want to ask all journalists in Malaysia; how long are we going to allow this to happen and are we like before, only seeing and reporting on what has happened?
“Therefore, I urge journalists, editors, media owners and those concerned to take appropriate action to boycott from covering the government and leaders because of their terrible record of press freedom.
“Let us unite to hold a large-scale demonstration and pick a day to not make any coverage. Let us leave online media empty, place black on online media, newspapers and other types of media,” he said in a press statement to Selangor Kini today.
He said that permit suspension of the weekly newspaper The Heat is another black mark in Malaysia’s journalism world.
The Heat was suspended for the publication addressing the spending of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, on the front page of the newspaper.
Hata, a former senior reporter at Utusan Malaysia who was sacked, stressed that journalists need to peacefully assembly in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya to protest against the government and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA).
“I can suggest more extreme action, but I do not believe that many journalists are willing to do it because a large number of journalists in Malaysia are third-world journalists who are not willing to defend the value of journalism and media freedom,” he said.
