KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) today suggested that reporters seek written confirmation from ministers and the Attorney-General before reporting on leaked information, after Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali proposed new laws to compel media personnel to divulge such sources.
Although rejecting Apandi’s proposal to amend the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) to include such powers, the NUJ said it cannot be held accountable if reporters fall foul of such laws in the future.
“The NUJ advises all reporters to obtain written confirmation from the minister or Attorney-General that whatever news they wish to report is not leaked information,” the group said in statement today.
“Although we only report (the news), but it is feared that such news is based on information leaked by others, and we all know the powers that lie in the Attorney-General, as recently demonstrated.”
The NUJ nevertheless criticised Apandi’s proposal, saying that it violated the journalistic ethics of protecting one’s sources and was a tyranny upon reporters whose duty it is to report the truth.
It said the press must be given sufficient room to perform its duties in an ethical and legal manner, which included the freedom to criticise fairly without duress and to report based on verified facts and valid sources.
Other media groups had earlier today issued their criticism of the proposed amendments to the OSA.
Apandi was yesterday reported as saying that he will consider seeking an increase to the penalties available against those who leaked official secrets, including raising the sentences to life imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane.
According to the Chinese language Sin Chew Daily, Apandi said the proposed amendments to the Official Secrets Act will also include journalists who refuse to identify the sources of the leaked information.
The AG also said that there is no right to information according to the Federal Constitution.
