Faisal Mustaffa Online :: Menjana Politik Baru

Wartawan Beri Rasuah Sudah Serah Nama ke SPRM

Apabila menghubungi salah seorang daripada wartawan Merdekareview, Chen Shaua Fui, beliau memberitahu dan terkejut apabila Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) enggan menyiasat kes rasuah yang melibatkan kakitangan pejabat media Barisan Nasional (sebut: bahalol).

Chen sudah membuat laporan ke SPRM dan menamakan pihak yang menyerahkan wang tersebut. Namun, beliau mengakui tidak meletakkan nama kakitangan tersebt di dalam laporan polisnya.

Kakitangan yang meminta memberi nama, agensi berita dan no telefon wartawan yang ada di pusat media Barisan Nasional ialah Jagjit Singh yang merupakan pegawai di pusat media bagi PRK Kuala Terengganu.

Gambar dari laman People's Parliament

Berikut ialah kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh CIJ berkenaan isu tersebut:

MEDIA STATEMENT 19 January 2009 Police, EC and MACC should investigate bribery of journalists

Kuala Lumpur: The authorities should immediately investigate reports that officers from the Terengganu state Information Ministry had offered RM300 cash to journalists covering the Kuala Terengganu by-election over the weekend.

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) is disappointed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has decided not to investigate the case because they said the reporters could not identify the giver.

“This reflects the lack of initiative on the part of the MACC to respond to what is clearly an attempt to bribe journalists covering the by-election. This is unacceptable, as the authorities should be able to easily identify who the culprits were. Are we to accept this excuse from an agency that is to undertake a huge task of investigating corruption?

“This approach makes a mockery of the so-called reforms towards a corrupt-free society that was declared by the Prime Minister in his last minute attempts to prove that he was doing something on the issue,” said CIJ executive director Gayathry Venkiteswaran.

Gayathry said the authorities should take the matter seriously and especially the report lodged by the two journalists who acted immediately upon discovering that they were given cash in an envelope.

CIJ commends the two journalists, Chen Shaua Fui and Chan Wei See from online media MerdekaReview.com for lodging police reports immediately after receiving the cash.

The journalists are not only driven to report a criminal activity but are serious in upholding high ethical practices by rejecting any form of inducements.

In the incident, reporters at the media centre who were covering the by-election were asked to list their names, organisations and telephone numbers before being given an envelope containing six RM50 notes. Some of the journalists were reported to have returned the money to the staff at the centre, who claimed they did not know the giver. The ministry has denied making any payments to the journalists.

“The Information Minister boasted in October last year that there was no envelope journalism in Malaysia where journalists and editors are paid to highlight certain stories. How ironic that the alleged bribery over the weekend has taken place within the state information department's media centre.

“We call for an investigation by the Election Commission (EC), the police and MACC to identify the givers and that action be taken immediately,” she added.

While there are no documented cases of bribery of media personnel, influence over newsroom decisions come in the form of laws and political pressure. Among the more critical laws are the Printing Presses and Publications Act and the Communication and Multimedia Act to ensure that the ruling government has ways to penalise the media if the coverage is critical of them.

Berikut pula ialah laporan akhbar Medeka Review:

记者已供出派钱官员的名字
反贪委会反指记者无法认人

■日期／Jan 20, 2009 ■时间／04:38:20 pm

■新闻／家国风云 ■作者／本刊陈慧思

【本刊记者撰述】反贪污委员会向《新海峡时报》放话指，记者无法认出派发300元信封的官员的样子，因此该委员会将不会介入调查瓜登新闻局媒体中心发放300元“红包”一事，可是《独立新闻在线》副编辑陈慧思和记者曾薛霏在1月16日报案当晚到登州反贪污委员会录口供时，就已说出了派钱官员的名字。

《新海峡时报》今天引述反贪污委员会官员的言论指称，该委员会将不会开启调查档案，调查记者在媒体中心收取300元一事，原因是记者没法认出派发信封的官员。

可是，陈慧思和曾薛霏向警方报案和向登州反贪污局录口供时，都有说出派发300元信封的媒体中心负责人的名字；登州反贪污局调查官录完口供后也当场承诺，他们将传召该负责人进行盘问。

瓜登选区的新闻部媒体中心在1月16日下午3时50分左右，向在场约13名媒体记者派发一个内含六张面值马币50元纸钞的白色信封。收到这笔300元现款的陈慧思和曾薛霏在下午6时30分左右，到瓜登警区总部报案，要警方调查其中是否涉及贿赂。【点击：采访瓜登补选获派三百现金《独立新闻在线》记者报案】

完成报案之后，她们陆续接到警员和警官的多通电话，向她们确认案发地点以及要她们当晚回到警局协助警方进行调查。后来一名警官在电话上告诉她们，警方和反贪污委员会开会讨论之后，已决定交反贪污委员会调查此案。

当晚10时40分至约凌晨1时，她们就被警官带往登州联邦大厦（Wisma Persekutuan）的登州反贪污委员会总部，接受该委员会约两个小时半的调查。她们在口供中，皆说出了派钱官员的名字。

指称派钱动机没法确认

没有具名的反贪污委员会官员在今天《新海峡时报》的报道中还说，采访瓜登补选的记者大都是外地人，皆没有在补选中投票，因此派钱的动机没法确认。

他也认为，指摘巫统或国阵派钱给记者并不公平，而在野党指责巫统贿赂选民也是不确实的，否则回教党就不会在补选中胜出了。

记者报案当天，新闻部已透过官方新闻社马新社，否认派钱给在瓜拉登嘉楼采访的新闻工作者。马新社引述新闻部长阿末沙比里仄的新闻秘书希山阿都哈密（Hisham Abdul Hamid）说，新闻部不曾指示任何官员这么做；“这从来都不是新闻部的做法。”

无论如何，这宗具贿赂意味的事件，就发生在登州新闻局设立的媒体中心里，新闻部没法轻易撇开嫌疑。独立新闻中心（Centre for Independent Journalism, CIJ）就讽刺道：“新闻部长在去年10月才说，马来西亚没有‘酬赏编采’（envelope journalism），即我国的新闻工作者和编辑并没有被收买以放大特定新闻。可是讽刺的是上周末的贿赂行为，是在州新闻局的媒体中心发生。”

失望委员会拒调查

独立新闻中心今天发表文告，促警方、选举委员会和反贪污委员会即刻调查向新闻工作者行贿一事。该维权组织的执行主任嘉雅特莉（V.Gayatry）在文告中指出，该中心失望反贪污委员会以记者无法认出派钱者为由，而决定不调查此案。

嘉雅特莉（左图）说：“这透射出反贪污局在回应试图贿赂采访补选的记者的事件中，缺乏主动性。这是无法接受的，因为有关当局该很容易认出罪犯。我们是否可以接受这个负责大量调查工作的机构给出的理由？”