KUALA LUMPUR – Former Media Prima Bhd chairman Tan Sri Johan Jaafar has shared his concerns over press freedom today following two developments affecting major news outlets.
This came amid a change in the New Straits Times’ (NST) editorial management, which purportedly went against the wishes of its editorial staff, and after a former editor-in-chief of The Edge faced criminal defamation charges over the business paper’s coverage of penny stock manipulation.
In a statement to the NST, Johan said he stands with its outgoing group editor Ahmad Lokman Mansor’s stewardship, as he was responsible for the news agency’s balanced and critical reporting.
“I find it totally unacceptable that an editor who is helping to resurrect the New Straits Times is facing the axe.
“I stand by Ahmad Lokman Mansor for his audacity to push the envelope. The NST is a more palatable newspaper today thanks to his work.”
Johan also said he was concerned that Ahmad Azam Mohd Aris, the former editor-in-chief of The Edge, was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code over two articles published while he held the post.
“I believe those pieces were the representation of events and fair reporting relating to penny stock manipulations,“ Johan said in the NST article posted this evening.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri (Yaakob) has time and again given the assurance that the media should remain free to operate without any interference from other parties.”
A check by The Vibes at 9pm this evening showed that the NST article quoting Johan appeared to have been taken down.
However, a similar piece remained published on Sinar Harian at the time of this writing.
The Vibes had reported today that Lokman was likely to be axed as NST group editor, following alleged political interference from Umno figures, namely Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani and Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.
Rauf, however, had denied the allegations.
Lokman is set to be replaced with Farrah Naz Karim, who is slated to take over the position on September 15.
Separately, Azam and The Edge’s contributing editor, Shanmugam Murugasu, are facing up to two years, or a fine, or both, over the articles on stock manipulation.
Johan went on to explain that the media landscape now has drastically changed compared to a time when most media houses were owned or controlled by political parties.
“Times have changed, and so too have the dynamics of the media business. The media business is the business for media practitioners.
“Now is the time to strengthen journalistic commitments to ensure the Fourth Estate is the bedrock of democracy.” – The Vibes, September 13, 2022
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