KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 ― Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang should be showing a better example instead of losing his cool and publicly shaming a reporter who was only doing his job at a news conference yesterday, a journalists group said today.

Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) told the DAP parliamentary leader that a reporter’s job is to ask questions and pointed out that the politician did not give a chance for the broadcast journalist from TV3 to elaborate, based on a video clip of the news conference uploaded online by news portal Malaysiakini.

“Geramm would like to stress that all journalists have a right to ask questions and perform their duties without any hindrance.

“As a veteran politician, Lim should be showing a good example by not losing his cool towards a reporter who is only carrying out his duties,” it said in a statement.

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Geramm noted that Lim is a “well known” politician who consistently writes his own statements when there were matters that needed to be highlighted.

The video clip of just a little over two minutes was taken at a new conference at the home of former federal minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who announced his entry into DAP yesterday.

In the recording, Lim was seen losing his temper when asked if he would have spoken in a different tone on the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) and Bank Negara foreign currency exchange scandals linked to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad if the former prime minister were not his ally now.

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The Gelang Patah MP was heard calling TV3 “a maker of false news and false stories” and being cheered on by his colleagues.

But Geramm also urged the editorial board of newspapers to observe principles of ethical journalism in their daily operations, “to avoid further erosion of their credibility”.

It alluded to the latest lawsuit threat by DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng against New Straits Times and its sister company Berita Harian whom he accused of being “master liars” and publishing defamatory articles against him.