Police report lodged against Umno man for ‘shoot the reporter’ remark

GEORGE TOWN: A police report has been lodged against state Umno liaison secretary Datuk Azhar Ibrahim for allegedly saying a reporter should be shot, at a press conference last Friday.

Komtar assemblyman Ng Wei Aik, who made the report at the Patani road police station on Tuesday, said it was very unbecoming of the Umno leader to have said, in Bahasa Malaysia, that if there was any racial tension, a certain reporter should be the first to be shot.

“This is criminal intimidation and such a threat should not have been uttered as reporters are only doing their job. Action should be taken against him under Section 506 of the Penal Code.

“I also handed over to the investigating officer a VCD of the press conference, which took place at the state Umno building in Macalister Road, with a video clip of the threat,” he said.

Ng said he hoped that the police would thoroughly investigate the matter, adding that the safety of reporters was of the utmost importance as they are the bridge between the people and the government.

The press conference involved 13 Penang Umno divisions that had declared their support for Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail, who is under investigation for allegedly making racist and seditious remarks regarding Malaysian-Chinese.