PUTRAJAYA, March 8 — Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil today said the government will contact the Dewan Rakyat Speaker over allegedly misleading remarks that Opposition lawmakers have been making in Parliament.
He said the Cabinet agreed on this during today’s meeting, after discussing some parliamentarians’ allegations made during the debate on the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address that could mislead the House.
“In particular, there are a series of statements made by several MPs that are incorrect. Untrue or not, it can be said to have confused the Dewan.
“Inshallah the Cabinet will contact the Speaker’s office to make sure. Because it’s like saying something first and then apologising later. Do they understand that what they say is not true? Incorrect?
“In this series of events, it doesn’t matter if it’s Tasek Gelugor, Pengkalan Chepa or Marang — so many things have been raised,” he said referring to Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, and Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, respectively.
On a separate matter, Fahmi also described Wan Saiful’s claim that the country is witnessing a “slow murder” of media reforms as hypocritical.
“Where was he in 2021 when Al Jazeera reporters were expelled. I got a lot of hits for standing up for that. Where was he?” he asked.
Fahmi also announced that his ministry today met with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) delegates at his office.
“Among our discussions included an explanation of the Malaysian Press Institute’s code of ethics for journalists, about the media certification card as well as some suggestions for future cooperation to improve not only the level of media freedom in Malaysia. But also if there is room for us to collaborate with our friends in the South-east Asia region.
“I very much welcome this meeting and it was a very good, open and productive meeting and God willing we will continue our working relationship. I understand that after this they have a series of meetings with several journalists’ associations and they understand the situation well. And I hope this will open a new chapter in the relationship not only with friends from the media and this association but also with the government,” he said.
