NUJ demands Utusan call off witch hunt
By Melissa Chi
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) demanded today for Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia to cancel a domestic inquiry on one of its journalists, who is also the union’s new chief.
NUJ president Hata Wahari, who was elected to the post last September, has been hauled up by his employers over his criticisms against the Malay daily. He will face a domestic inquiry on Thursday and is at risk of being sacked.
NUJ Malaysia general secretary Anbalagan Veerasamy defended the union’s president today, saying he was only exercising his duty to protect his fellow journalists and uphold media ethics.
“NUJ president Hata Wahari had made his remarks as a union official, and Utusan is free to make a public rebuttal if it did not agree with NUJ’s statements,” he said in a statement.
He added that the Umno mouthpiece should respect the rights of NUJ officials to make public statements which relate to the interests of union members.
“NUJ is deeply concerned by the domestic inquiry on President Hata Wahari by Utusan Malaysia, and will monitor the developments closely,” Anbalagan warned.
Hata has been critical of his employers as well as being outspoken about the freedom of the press and the importance of non-biased reporting. In a recent statement, he kicked off the new year by blaming Utusan editors and what he called their racial rhetoric for the daily’s declining sale.
He also called on the authorities to act against the paper’s editors for fanning racial sentiment in its reports.
Executive officer for media interest group Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Masjaliza Hamzah has also demanded that the Malay daily not punish the journalist for his outspokenness on the matters of press freedom.
“This is his job and he’s doing his job as the president of NUJ. He does have a national stature, they would sometimes need to say critical things in the course of serving the national duty,” she told The Malaysian Insider today, adding that he should not be penalised for it.
She claimed that this was the only time that a NUJ’s leader has stood up to protect the integrity of journalists and not give in to unethical media practices.
“Perhaps for the first time [Malaysian journalists are] getting the union they deserve.
“[T]his is the first time, an NUJ leader has come out with a strong statement that is critical of the media organisation covering an issue, and I guess in this instance, it happens to be the media organisation he also works for,” she said.
Masjaliza said that CIJ will continue to pressure the Malay daily as they had “gotten away” with the sacking of Amran Ahmad, who was the chairman of NUJ-Utusan Melayu before his dismissal in September 2010.
Amran was sacked in last year following a report he made to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over procurements made by Utusan Melayu Berhad, the company that publishes Utusan Malaysia.
“In many ways, they got away with sacking the previous NUJ branch chair, so I think it’s about time they listen. They cannot act with impunity. There are ethical standards to follow, that Utusan also needs to follow, just like other media organisations,” she said.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) demanded today for Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia to cancel a domestic inquiry on one of its journalists, who is also the union’s new chief.
NUJ president Hata Wahari, who was elected to the post last September, has been hauled up by his employers over his criticisms against the Malay daily. He will face a domestic inquiry on Thursday and is at risk of being sacked.
NUJ Malaysia general secretary Anbalagan Veerasamy defended the union’s president today, saying he was only exercising his duty to protect his fellow journalists and uphold media ethics.
“NUJ president Hata Wahari had made his remarks as a union official, and Utusan is free to make a public rebuttal if it did not agree with NUJ’s statements,” he said in a statement.
He added that the Umno mouthpiece should respect the rights of NUJ officials to make public statements which relate to the interests of union members.
“NUJ is deeply concerned by the domestic inquiry on President Hata Wahari by Utusan Malaysia, and will monitor the developments closely,” Anbalagan warned.
Hata has been critical of his employers as well as being outspoken about the freedom of the press and the importance of non-biased reporting. In a recent statement, he kicked off the new year by blaming Utusan editors and what he called their racial rhetoric for the daily’s declining sale.
He also called on the authorities to act against the paper’s editors for fanning racial sentiment in its reports.
Executive officer for media interest group Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Masjaliza Hamzah has also demanded that the Malay daily not punish the journalist for his outspokenness on the matters of press freedom.
“This is his job and he’s doing his job as the president of NUJ. He does have a national stature, they would sometimes need to say critical things in the course of serving the national duty,” she told The Malaysian Insider today, adding that he should not be penalised for it.
She claimed that this was the only time that a NUJ’s leader has stood up to protect the integrity of journalists and not give in to unethical media practices.
“Perhaps for the first time [Malaysian journalists are] getting the union they deserve.
“[T]his is the first time, an NUJ leader has come out with a strong statement that is critical of the media organisation covering an issue, and I guess in this instance, it happens to be the media organisation he also works for,” she said.
Masjaliza said that CIJ will continue to pressure the Malay daily as they had “gotten away” with the sacking of Amran Ahmad, who was the chairman of NUJ-Utusan Melayu before his dismissal in September 2010.
Amran was sacked in last year following a report he made to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over procurements made by Utusan Melayu Berhad, the company that publishes Utusan Malaysia.
“In many ways, they got away with sacking the previous NUJ branch chair, so I think it’s about time they listen. They cannot act with impunity. There are ethical standards to follow, that Utusan also needs to follow, just like other media organisations,” she said.
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