SHAH ALAM, Sept 13 — Political parties should avoid interfering in the appointment of editors for news organisations, in order to ensure media independence from political influences, said Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar.
The National Journalism Laureate said that in line with the passage of time, the dynamics of the media business have also changed, wherein it is for media practitioners.
“They must be given the freedom to operate freely and fairly. Now is the time to strengthen journalistic commitments to ensure the Fourth Estate remains the bedrock of democracy,” he said in a statement.
Johan criticised the recent appointment of Farrah Naz Karim as group editor of New Straits Times (NST), whose tenure comes into effect on Thursday (September 15) and replacing Ahmad Lokman Mansor who currently holds the position.
“I find it totally unacceptable that an editor who is helping to resurrect NST is facing the axe. I stand by Ahmad Lokman for his audacity to push the envelope, as NST is a more palatable newspaper today thanks to his works,” he said.
The replacement of Ahmad Lokman as NST group editor has been claimed to be due to alleged political interference within NSTP.
Johan also expressed concern over The Edge former editor Ahmad Azam Mohd Aris, who has been charged with defamation under Section 500 of the Penal Code, in relation to two articles published during his tenure.
“I believe those pieces were a representation of events and fair reporting relating to penny stock manipulations.
“The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri has time and again given assurances that ‘the media should remain free to operate without any interference from other parties.’
“At the same time, journalists must be allowed to operate without fear of reprisals in performing their duties,” he said.
Ahmad Azam was charged in two separate courts earlier today for defaming a Datuk and four companies in the two articles, with the result of damaging the reputation of the Datuk and the companies involved.
The defamation charge under Section 500, read together with Section 34 of the same code, carries with it a maximum jail term of two years or a fine or both, upon conviction.
