KUALA LUMPUR: Press freedom in the country now is much better today, without any restriction or preset agenda, especially after the era of the country’s longest-serving prime minister, said Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that during that era, the agenda of media organisations was largely set by a “certain someone” and not the owners of the companies.
“Coincidentally, in my doctorate dissertation, I made a comparison of (reports published by) Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia in the past five general elections in Malaysia during the leadership of the country’s longest-serving leader. When I look back at the facts of my research, if they are still relevant, they show that agenda setting was done by someone,” he said when opening the ‘BH Khas Hari Kebangsaan’ National Day exhibition organised by the Berita Harian newspaper here yesterday.
Without mentioning any name but apparently referring to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Ahmad Zahid reminded the “longest-serving leader” that his era was over and that he should acknowledge that the country was doing much better after his retirement.
On the growth of the media industry in the country, Ahmad Zahid praised print and electronic media organisations which he said were seen to be complementing each other while competing healthily and putting journalism ethics into practice.
However, he also warned against the presence of unethical journalists who were out to take over, to compete and to challenge the credibility of ethical journalists.
“For me, wherever we are, whether we want to translate the freedom of expression and opinion, we must give ethics priority.
“We must not do something at our whims and fancies, let alone put hatred and anger into our writing, which would eventually be detrimental to society as a whole,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said media practitioners should give priority to reporting the truth and avert news that could only create or add to confusion.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid also called on government-linked and Finance Minister Incorporated-owned companies to help media organisations to remain in the ever-challenging and competitive media world.
He said the media companies could not depend solely on the sale of newspapers and advertisements to ensure their survival and to continue disseminating news and information to the people. — Bernama