Are reporters “wild and dangerous beasts” who must be caged in Parliament so that they do not run wild to “ambush” Ministers and MPs?
This is my protest in Parliament at the end of question time over the new restriction barring media representatives access to the lobby with an obscene barricade of the area.
At the beginning of the Parliament meeting today, Penang Chief Minister and DAP MP for Bagan Lim Guan Eng had protested against the ruling as tantamount to a clampdown on press freedom.
In calling for the withdrawal of the clampdown on parliamentary reporters, he said: “There is no justification whatsoever for restricting reporters to a small corner as if they pose a grave danger to security and a threat to the safety of parliamentarians. No MP has ever suffered personal injury or threats from reporters accredited to cover the Parliament.
“By imposing such restrictions merely for the personal comfort and conveniences of certain individuals would contravene the basic spirit of democracy and respect the sanctity of Parliament where reporters can carry out their duties to communicate debate on policy in an accurate and professional manner.”
Regrettably, Guan Eng was booed by Barisan Nasional MPs for taking up the cudgel on behalf of parliamentary reporters, who have also protested and launched a boycott of all press conferences or events outside the parliamentary chamber.
Deputy speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was presiding over the sitting, was non-committal, saying that he would have to first discuss the matter with speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and the other deputy speaker, Datuk Ronald Kiandee.
At about 11.05 am, I left the chamber together with Guan Eng and other DAP MPs to the Speaker’s Chamber to discuss the new press restrictions with Pandikar Amin, but was told that the Speaker would only come in for the afternoon session.
When I returned to the Chamber as I have a motion to adjourn the House to discuss Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s statutory declaration which had named three persons who were also at the scene of the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuuu in October 2006, which is slated after question time at 11.30 a.m, I saw on my table a letter from the Speaker rejecting in chamber my Standing Order 18 application on the ground of the on-going murder trial of Altantuya.
#1 by saiful on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 7:58 am
hey there,
Hmmmm….it seems Mr Lim Kit Siang is manipulating something here……for those that really knew bout this thing….
MR LIM KIT SIANG HIMSELF THAT described reporters as beast and dangerous animal……..not others MPs in the Parliment…..
what a silly jokes by this old man……for others like Lim Guan Eng….he is more relevant in saying thing………he is much better than his father…….
i hope its not like father like son………….
#2 by undergrad2 on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 9:02 am
An interesting observation by someone on this blog!
“I think Limkamput is another joker like Kasim Amat who love to write rubbish, non facts and non figures supporting statements but criticising other writers and bloggers here. What a shame to both Limkamput and Kasim Amat? Your nickname “Limkamput” well means you are “Kamput/Koyak” type of person is indeed suitable to replace your surname. In the name of ALLAH, such person is useless grabbage scum or “sampah masyarakat”.
#3 by limkamput on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 10:41 am
That sh!t from so-called UAE. If some of you are taken in by him, you fellows must be naive and stupid. I expect the bloggers here to be smarter than that. But then are we? I have implicitly stated that even bloggers, despite many would like to think otherwise, need education and awareness programme.
For you undergrad2, i have long noted you have nothing good to say on others especially those others are smarter and knowleageable than you. You are a smarter fellow. But you must learn to accept that there are many out there smarter than you. Please learn to accept that.
#4 by undergrad2 on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 10:59 am
Limkamput,
Don’t try to change the topic.
Are you going to deny that you’ve been in government service all your working life and therefore part of the establishment. You criticized the government so much, hiding your ethnic identity as you criticized your own people and then appearing under different handles to bash the Chinese. You have some really serious issues, don’t you??
Are you going to deny that in return for your ‘dedicated’ service to the BN government, you have been awarded the PPN medal for long service which are also given to drivers?
#5 by i_love_malaysia on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 11:33 am
Why the reporters were barred from lobby???
there are many answers to this, one of them is that the reporters were telling the truth now and being penalised. There’s no more good news other than bad news from BN govt, so how do you ask the reporters to write good things about the BN govt when they could not find any. In order to keep their jobs and people buying their newspapars, they have to write something, but they cant lie because people can find out from blogs that tell the truth!!!
Expect some major shakeups in the lineup of newspapers’ editors soon!!!
#6 by limkamput on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 4:34 pm
Please don’t insult the awards like AMN or PPN. These awards are given by the King. Don’t insult the awards althuogh you may insult some who don’t deserve to receive those awards. I don’t know whether this is subversion. You care to advise yourself? I really got no time to argue with you these few days. Need to earn a living, unlike some who enjoys the best of both world. In the US, one can actually be a free rider to live comfortably.
#7 by undergrad2 on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 7:02 pm
The word apparently you couldn’t find is “freeloader” and it is not “free rider”! But unlike you, I’m not going to insult you for not knowing like you insult others here.
Please do not try to change the topic.
Nobody insults any thing or anybody. If you have to cower under some handle and masquerades as a Chinese to convince others to read what you write, then it is your choice but at least don’t go around bashing your own race and the BN government that you spent your entire life working for like as if you never benefited from it! Like I said earlier you have some serious issues with yourself and need to see a psychiatrist. People with narcissistic personalities suffering from paranoid schizophrenia always do!
DAP welcomes all who believe in its ideals – Malays included, even those with long service awards like PPN.
#8 by BlackEye on Thursday, 26 June 2008 - 11:54 pm
Are you still talking to yourself in your blog under different nicks, limkaput??
#9 by KS R on Friday, 27 June 2008 - 2:18 am
All BN MP confuse state they do not know what they are doing. Because everyday new issue surfacing time BN close shop and preapre the to go to jail and relax or hang for the past offence they did
#10 by taiking on Friday, 27 June 2008 - 12:41 pm
Claimed misunderstanding. Pure denial. Absolute refusal to comment. Finger pointing.
Are we expected to take all these as proper and satisfactory answers to the simple question why journalists and photographers are not allowed to approach MPs and Ministers along the corridor of Parliament House?
Are they, MPs and Ministers, not comfortable with the press and the media?
They are public figures. Dont forget that. And all public figures must maintain a public presence and appearance. Anyone who cant take that really ought to keep away from politics and remain a private person and lead a private life.
The decision to block the media actually amounts to more than a mere stupidity. It is in fact a magnificent display of poorly planned and thought out stupidity.
#11 by i_love_malaysia on Friday, 27 June 2008 - 12:53 pm
limkamput Says:
Yesterday at 16: 34.59
Please don’t insult the awards like AMN or PPN. These awards are given by the King. Don’t insult the awards althuogh you may insult some who don’t deserve to receive those awards. I don’t know whether this is subversion. You care to advise yourself? I really got no time to argue with you these few days. Need to earn a living, unlike some who enjoys the best of both world. In the US, one can actually be a free rider to live comfortably.
—————————
limkamput,
If the awards were given to those dont deserve it, it showed that there’s a problem with the awarding process i.e. how can an underserving people got the award!!! if too many underserving people are awarded, it wont be deserving to get one!!! no wonder few people want to get a Datukship anymore as too many undeserving people are getting it!!!
#12 by limkamput on Saturday, 28 June 2008 - 9:52 am
Cars cause accidents, sometimes fatal ones. Should we not drive then, I_love-Malaysia. So if there are non deserving ones, we should therefore not respecting the deserving ones. The thinking process must be clear. What do you mean by too many? Have you compared the number of deserving ones and those that are not. If Sdr Lim get is Tansriship or Tunship, do you think he is deserving even i know there are many Tuns who are not. I think right in the heart of each recipient, he/she knows whether the award is befiting and deserving or not.
Of course there are weaknesses in the awarding process. But then, in life which is perfect. We criticise and condemn, but right in our heart, we must also realise that we are at times no angel also. I don’t about you all, i think about this all the time whenever i comment here or write somewhere else.
Freeloader or free rider, what difference do they make? We in Malaysia are perfectly fine with free rider. Only the half baked American, the Ah beng type, who want to enjoy the best of both worlds would point out everything that is “american”. To this ah beng, even the sh!t of americans smells good. Hello, ah beng chai, i was there much earlier than you. So don’t come and give me all the baloney which i am sure only the americans use this word. But have you heard of this?