UPDATED KUALA LUMPUR: After landing in trouble over a report concerning the resignation of Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan, China Press has apologised and suspended its editor-in-chief Teoh Yong Khoon.
The popular daily published the apology on its front-page today, stating that its report on March 13 was “incosistent with the facts”.
China Press said that the erroneous report had caused inconvenience to the prime minister, home minister, Musa and his deputy.
“We did not expect this situation and therefore wish to express our deepest regret for the publication of the report,” it added.
An apology was also published in the daily's evening edition yesterday, where it revealed that Teoh was willing to bear full responsibility for the issue.
Contacted this morning, FMT was told that Teoh has gone on leave.
Threatened with suspension
On Tuesday, opposition stalwart Lim Kit Siang claimed that China Press was threatened with suspension if it failed to act against its top editor.
However, Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein denied this, saying that the daily was only slapped with a show-cause letter.
Yesterday, the ministry said it was satisfied with China Press' explanation and would not take further action.
The disputed report claimed that Musa would step down prior to the Police Day on March 25 and that he has submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Hishammuddin.
Both Musa and Hishammuddin denied this, explaining that Musa's contract was expiring in September and a replacement has already been identified.
Media practitioners and other quarters have expressed grave concern over the government's control of the media, which they argued comes at the expense of objectivity and fair reporting.
Numerous calls have been made for the abolishment of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, which allows the authorities to keep the print and electronic media on a tight leash.
Two-week suspension harsh
In a related development, the Centre for Independent Journalism strongly condemned the ministry's decision to issue a show-cause letter to China Press.
“China Press may have made a mistake in the details but the story in totality was accurate,” said its communications officer Yip Wai Fong.
“Publishing a correction would have been sufficient. There was no need for an explanation or a suspension,” she added.
Yip also took the government to task for giving the impression that the police is a “no scrutiny” area.
“At a time when rumours are rife that a change in IGP is linked to power politics in the police force and Home Ministry, the public deserves to know more and not less on this issue,” she said.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) also agreed that suspending the editor-in-chief was a harsh move but equally emphasised the need for accurate reporting.
“Such a mistake is very unbecoming of an editor-in-chief who is supposed to uphold the ethics of journalism,” said NUJ president Norila Daud.
“Journalists are always out to get scoops but it shouldn't be at the expense of accuracy especially when it concerns the security of the country.
“But I think a warning letter would have been enough. People make mistakes. I understand that the image of the company has been tarnished but a two-week suspension is uncalled for,” she told FMT.
Also read:
FMT editorial: Truths of the matter
China Press spared the rod
Don't sensationalise, Hisham warns media
